SUMMER BIRDS OF SHAW'S GARDEN. 43 



behind the other from cover to cover, or coming upon them 

 suddenly we may be startled by the loud whirring sound 

 which they make when all take wing at once. Pairs are 

 noticed in April and eggs are laid in May, but the cutting of 

 the grass and weeds is likely to disturb them or, by ruining 

 the already commenced brood, force them to make another 

 attempt in some quiet spot. 



The well-known Quail is a very handsome bird of a much 

 variegated coloration, a reddish brown varied with black and 

 white as the leading colors; the female is somewhat smaller 

 with the general coloration subdued, less black and the white 

 less pure. As the Quail is not only a handsome bird, but also 

 a very beneficial one, destroying numbers of injurious insects 

 in all stages of development all the year around, it deserves 

 all the protection the farmer and gardener can give it. 



MOURNING DOVE. Zenoidura macroura. 



One pair of these lovely creatures made its home within the 

 confines of the Garden. The doleful cooing of the male is 

 one of the first sounds of Nature in early spring and is con- 

 tinued with more or less frequency throughout summer. The 

 gentle and famiUar Dove likes to nest near human habitations, 

 knowing that good people are the best protection against its 

 many enemies. The Doves of St. Louis and surrounding 

 country have a particular liking for park-like gardens, where 

 Spruces afford them secure nesting sites before deciduous 

 trees become leafy enough to hide their frail structure. Ar- 

 riving already paired about March 25, the peculiar far-reach- 

 ing love-notes coo-coo, coo-coo betray their presence at 

 once and the graceful airy evolutions of the playful birds are 

 a fine treat to the Nature lover. 



If the weather permits, arrangements for the first brood 

 are made early in April and the one or two young ones leave 

 the nest about the first of June, when preparations for a second 

 brood are made. It seems that three broods are sometimes 

 attempted, as nests with eggs have been found late in August 

 and September, but as a rule Doves have deserted their breed- 

 ing grounds by the middle of August, retiring to the wheat 



