44 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



Now, dividing under three heads the various seeds, etc., that I 

 have found in the crops of Wood Pigeons, we have the following : — 



GRAIN AND FARM PRODUCE. 



Wheat, oats, barley, beans, peas, tares ; leaf, and occasionally 

 bulb of Swedish turnip ; leaf of white clover ; decayed potatoes. 



SEEDS, ETC., OF TREES AND SHRUBS. 



Beech-nuts ; leaf-bud of beech ; acorns (rarely) ; oak spangle, 

 or galls from the leaf of oak ; seed of elm ; ivy and holly berries ; 

 fruit of hawthorn. 



SEEDS, ETC., OF WILD PLANTS AND NOXIOUS WEEDS. 



Seeds of wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis), wild oats (Avena fcUua), 

 broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolms), common knot-grass {Poly- 

 gonum avkulare), spotted persicaria (Polygonum Persicaria), Venus' 

 comb {Scandix Pecten) ; leaves of round-leaved cranes-bill {Geranium 

 rotundifolmm), ribwort plantain {Plantago lanceolata), ivy-leaved 

 speedwell {Veronica hederifolia), common chickweed {Stellaria 

 media) ; tubers of the lesser celandine {Ranunmlus Ficaria). 



The seeds of Polygonum were sandy, and had evidently been 

 picked up on ploughed land ; the same applies to Avena fatua, 

 Sinajns arvensis, and Scandix Pecten, whereas the seeds of Rurnex, 

 which were found during snow, were bright and clear from sand, 

 and had apparently been taken from the plant. 



In addition to this list, I have found two or three seeds which 

 I have not been able to determine, but I have no doubt that 

 Professor Balfour, who is always kind and ready to assist me, will 

 be able to name them for me. The list of seeds, leaves, and roots 

 appears a long one, but these things are, after all, but few and far 

 between as compared with the quantities of grain consumed by the 

 Wood Pigeon, especially during seed-time. I examined thirty- 

 six Pigeons last Saturday, and their crops contained nothing but 

 grain, principally barley. To-day I opened twelve with the same 

 result, finding only two small seeds of an umbelliferous j^lant ; as 

 Prince Hal would say, but "One halfpenny worth of bread to 

 this intolerable deal of sack." 



I must therefore conclude my remarks as I commenced them, 

 having come to the conclusion, from what I have seen, that the 



