Summary

The Birds opens with the announcement that the weather in a seaside English town has changed overnight. While it had been “mellow, soft” yesterday, it is suddenly winter today. Nat Hocken, a disabled war veteran, lives on a farm in this village with his wife, daughter (Jill), and infant son (Johnny). In the days leading up to the weather change, Nat noticed that large flocks of birds had been gathering near the water and that the birds seemed restless. They circled the sky, dropping occasionally to eat, but they never seemed to have a purpose. When they ate, for example, they never actually seemed hungry. Nat, like his neighbor Mr. Trigg, feels that the birds are warning them of the weather change and that it will be a particularly bitter winter.

That night, Nat is awakened by a tapping at his window. He sees that it...