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What did Nat notice when observing the birds?

At the beginning of the story, when Nat is eating lunch, he observes a great change in the birds. While "great flocks" of the birds continue to come to the peninsula, they appear "restless" and "uneasy." This change in behavior is especially prominent when the birds feed: they are never still but do not appear hungry, nor are they satisfied after eating.


Nat observes this strange behaviour among all of the avian species on the...

At the beginning of the story, when Nat is eating lunch, he observes a great change in the birds. While "great flocks" of the birds continue to come to the peninsula, they appear "restless" and "uneasy." This change in behavior is especially prominent when the birds feed: they are never still but do not appear hungry, nor are they satisfied after eating.


Nat observes this strange behaviour among all of the avian species on the peninsula. Down in the bay, for example, the seabirds are not as restless as those on the land, but they still possess this strange sense of purpose:



Crying, whistling, calling, they skimmed the placid sea and left the shore.



Nat also observes that some species of bird have come together to form a type of partnership. The jackdaw and the gull, for example, are not usually companions but, as Nat observes, they have started to "mingle" together and seem to be driven by the same restless feeling.


These observations not only set the story's scene but also foreshadow the forthcoming battles between the humans and the birds.

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