302 
COLUMBA MIGRATOKIA. 
torrent rolling along through the woods, every one 
striving to be in the front. Vast numbers of them are 
shot while in this situation. A person told me, that 
he once rode furiously into one of these rolling multi- 
tudes, and picked up thirteen pigeons, which had been 
trampled to death by his horse’s feet. In a few minutes, 
they will heat the whole nuts from a tree with theif 
wings, while all is a scramble, both above and helo"', 
for the same. They have the same cooing notes common 
to domestic pigeons, but much loss of their gesticula- 
tions. In some flocks you will find nothing but youii? 
ones, which arc easily distinguishable by their motlef 
dress. In others, they will be mostly females j aii^ 
again, great multitudes of males, with few or no females- 
I cannot account for this in any other way than that, 
during the lime of incubation, the males are'exclnsively 
eng^aged in procuring food, both for themselves and 
their mates ; and the young, being unable yet to under- 
take these extensive excursions, associate ton-ether 
accordingly. But, even in winter, I know of several 
species of birds n-ho sejiarate in this manner, particularly 
the red-winge<l starling, among ivhom thousands of old 
males may be found, with few or no youim- or females 
along with them. ” 
Stragglers from these immense armies settle in almost 
every part of the country, particularly among the beech 
woods, and in the jiine and hemlock woods of the 
eastern and northern parts of the coiitineiit. ht 
Pennant informs us, that they breed near Moose Fort 
at Hudson’s Bay, in N. lat 51% and I myself have seen 
the remains of a large breeding place as far south 
the country of the Chactaws, in lat. 32°. In the fbrroc’’ 
ot these places they are said to remain until December; 
from which circumstance, it is evident that they are 
not regular m their migrations, like many other specie?, 
but rove about, as scarcity of food urges them. Every 
spring, however, as well as tall, more or less of thei® 
are seen in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia ; but i‘ 
IS only once in several years that they appear in such 
