Evening star., 1932-02-07
BY JAMES WALDO FAWCETT.


with his more mannerly contemporaries
the starting nevertheless is beyond al
question the prize gymnast OF
| Ornitholcgical aeronauticS, and 1t is not
uncommon to find human audiences
numbering hundreds watching him and
his multitude of brothers and sisters as
they arabeSque the sunset sky. The
inevitable question is: How do they
do it?"
The starting spends his time and
energy during the sunny hours of the
day IN the fields and marshes of the
country about Washington. But he
prefers to spend the night in a warmer
environment, and late in the after
noon he comes back to town to settle
ubiquitously on the upper faces of pub
lie buildings, like the City Post Office,
where presumably he finds the comfort
he desires He comes back alone, or
as a member of a little group. but be-
fore beginning to settle for the night
he exercises apparently for the sheer
Joy of exercising. And he performs his
! aerial evolutions, not alone but as a
member of a company which may con-
sist of SO or 500 or 5000 individuals.
Leaders Are Tempermental.
In such group there appears to be
one. two or three leaders. These cap
! tains are tempermental. They alter
! their course with amazing frequency
and with startling abruptness. In full
! career. they will seem to halt, stand
still, drop. turn about, all in flash,
and miraculously, every other bird in
| the flock will unfailingly initiate the
action of the leaders. There is no dis
order. The entire group moves as an
entity. The trick seems to be
mathematical in its character. The
| result is ornamental in the extreme.
| Science has as yet no satisfactory
| explanation of how or why the starllngs
have these drills" The flight of birds
| from time immemOrial has been nd
! die. The author of the Proverbs OF
! Solomon, in the Bible, speaks OF the
way of an eagle in the air as being
too wonderful" for him, and his puz-
| zled reaction has been echoed by OBJ
servers, ancient and modern, proteS-
sional and lay.
Hints of Flock Instinct.
DR.. Alexander Wetmore, assistant sec
retary of the Smithsonian Institution
and author of a study of bird migration,
SAYS: There may be such thing as
flock instinct. Certain birds have an
impulse to fly in a certain way. Ihelr
companions are so attuned to mass Pc
havior that all react instantly TO the
suggestion that certain movement De
made. Practice makes perfect. BrdS
learn to execute particular movements
with precision, just as soldiers on a pa
rade ground learn the technique OF
drill Birds sometimes do collide IN the
air. but not often. Eyesight may have
a great deal to do with their ability 10
perform as they do. They have mar
yelous sensitivity of vision. They are
supersensitive in this respect. Most
birc5 are"
But DR.. WetmOre does not think there
are any chosen leaders among Starlings.
The composition of flockS vary, he be-
lieves, "and in a given group any ener-
getic individual may be temporary
leader. One bird just happens to be
trjf1e more aggressive than another, ana
fer the time being he is captain.
When the group settles, he is again just
one of the multitude. Birds are group
creatures. They act as they do for that
reason"
The Department Of Agriculture has
studied the startling with conSloeraoie
care, Two pamphlets render available
the findings of the department invcsti-
o. tors. In the former is: The flight
O. the startling is very characterlstlc,
and once learned. is easily recognized.
The birds are swift flyers, at times tray
cling as fast as 49 miles an hour with
rapid wing beats. and they can ,hange
direction instantly. FlOcks are often
observed to execute aerial oVolutlonS
with the unanimity and precision OF
company of well drilled soldiers.
THE birds will sail for considerable
distances with wings set habit similar
to that of the purple martin, but more
direct and vigorous flight distinguishes
the starlings" The latter booklet says:
ON fight = - = Starlings may be confused
with few other birds. From other
gregarious species with which they
often associate. starlings may be dis
tinguished by the wonderful co-ordlna-
tion of action between individuals OF the
flock, their rapid wing beats, great
speed and ability to alter direction IN
stantly"
Flights Are Described.
William MacGillivray, Scottish natu-
raliSt q796-1852). in his History q
british Birds" wrote: "Starlings al
WAYS keep in focks and generally ny
in a compact body, which frequently
appears to undergo a kind OF rotary
motion as the individuals Shift ther
position. When in haste however, tney
flv in a direct manner, without undu-
lations and with great speed, employing
regularly timed beats of their wings.
They alight in the open pastures
abruptly. without preparatory recon-
noitering. Immediately disperse, run
along very nimbly. and diligently searcn
for molluSca, worms and other oplects.
A contemporary observer, Wlillam
Yarrell G7841856), in his book OF the
same title said: Though the Ordinary
fight of starlingS is very swift and well
sustained il would not need special re-
mark were it not for the wonderful
performances of the multitudes
prior to their going to roost Tor the
night, and occasionally during the DAY
by smaller bodies, especially when dis
turbed by hawk, but sometimes, par
ticularly in early Spring. apparently
for mere Joy. Possessing very conSld-
erable powers of wing, these are turned
to account in an extraordinary man
ner by the birds composing the MOCK.
They wheel, close, open out, rise
and descend as if each were obeylng a
commander, and all this Is done WIZ
the most marvellous precision while tne
flock is proceeding at rapid pace hlSn
in air. At times it may extend IN a
long and nearly straight thread; sud-
denly an undulation is visible along the
line. and, in a moment, it takes the
form of thin and smokelike cloud;
another moment, and it is dense and
almost perfect globe; then, possibly
having preserved this appearance for
perceptibly longer time, it becomes
pear-shaped and, in another instant,
assumes a spiral figure; an instant
after, it has spread out like sheet,
and its members are seen streaming
softly along the ground, perhaps to
alight or perhaps once more to mount
aloft and circle as before.
Become Partly Invisible.
"Ihese performances are varied also
by the flock becoming momentarily in
visible or partly so, through the bros
as they wheel turning their wings eoge-
ways to the spectators eye, and then,
on a calm day, the noise caused by the
sudden change of direction will reach