Word: flock
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...Ross's gull, which is almost never seen south of the Arctic Circle, and never before in the continental U.S. It was indeed present and, as if on cue, put on a show for the hundreds of bird watchers by feeding three times each day with a flock of Bonaparte's gulls (named after Charles Lucien Bonaparte, an ornithologist and a nephew of Napoleon) making their accustomed annual visit...
...story is familiar enough. Marshfield's "distraction," as Updike fans have already guessed, took the form of a too-enthusiastic ministering to the sheep of his flock. And if Marshfield's wife and mistresses are puppets, at least they are well-carved, and skillfully handled...
...sermons are supposed to get better as the month goes on. The second begins with an examination of some New Testament miracles and unfolds into an elegant defense of evil as "essential to a Creation of differentiated particulars." But again, he ends with apostasy, cursing his "docile suburban flock...
...operation was the start of the U.S. Army's "blackbird control program." Last fall the birds had descended on southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee like a biblical plague. In addition to Fort Campbell's flock of 5 million, there were almost 10 million birds at the military arsenal in nearby Milan, Tenn.. and another 1.5 million in the town of Paducah, Ky. The blackbirds battened on feed meant for livestock, and their droppings might spread histoplasmosis, a lung disease. Before retaliating, the Army issued an environmental statement, and defeated court suits brought by two humane societies (TIME...
Paducah opened the attack. On a chilly, drizzly night, the town sprayed its roosting flock with a detergent that, in combination with the rain, removed insulating oil from the birds' feathers. Cold weather did the rest: 20% of the birds died. A few nights later, the Army went to work at Fort Campbell without waiting for rain. Huey helicopters sprayed the blackbirds with detergent, then fire trucks doused them with water. Meanwhile, the birds at the Milan arsenal have been left alone-until the next rainy cold spell. But the Army still stands a good chance of losing...