20 



flight and a disposition to range over vast uncultivated tracts 

 of the earth ; otherwise they must have perished in the districts 

 where they resided, or devoured the whole products of agricul- 

 ture as well as those of the forest." 



From an economic standpoint, aside from the fact that they 

 are hunted as game, doves are of interest to the farmer in rela- 

 tion to the quantity and kind of feed consumed. Like pigeons, 

 they wander far from home during the day, and thus cover a 

 large tract of territory, choosing their feeding ground according 

 to the kind and abundance of food. Their flight in passing to 

 and from their feeding grounds is in pairs during the spring and 

 summer, but in the fall they gather in flocks of eight to thirty or 

 more. They do not fly high, but direct, making the shortest 

 distance from one place to another, except in districts where 

 there is considerable hunting, in which ease they will make for 

 the nearest trees, and, keeping just above the tops, yet following 

 the line of woods, they pass on to the roosting places. 



Doves raised by the writer have been found to eat between 

 75 per cent and 120 per cent of their own weight of food per 

 day, from the time they are hatched up to the time they are 

 three weeks old. From then on the amount lessens rapidly till 

 they become adult, when they will eat but 7 per cent to 10 per 

 cent of their own weight. The following table, one of several 

 recorded by the writer, will give some idea of the relation be- 

 tween age, weight and food consumption during the life of a 

 squab. The nest recorded in the table was taken on May 7, 1908. 

 the young then being three days old. It was visited on the after- 

 noon of May 4, when one young had just been hatched, and was 

 not yet dry, while the egg that remained had been picked nearly 

 half Avay aroimd. Consequently the difference in age between 

 the two squabs was not more than a few hours. The uniformity 

 in size and weight, which continued throughout growth, of these 

 two, is remarkable in that it is unusual. The table shows the 

 total amount fed each day, which was divided between two feed- 

 ings, morning and evening. The birds were not crammed with 

 food, but were allowed to eat all they wished. Although this is 

 the record of birds raised in the house, and not under natural 

 conditions, yet it seems as if it cannot help but show approxi- 

 mately, at least, the relations as found in nature. 



