96 C. H. Merriam — Birds of Cotiuecticnt. 



upwards of one hundred nests were found, each containing o)te young 

 only,"* tliough un(h>ul»tedly two eggs are always laid — the one hatch- 

 ing first and crowding the other out of the nest, which is, at best, 

 but a frail cradle, formed merely " of a few slender dead twigs, negli- 

 gently put together, and with so little art that the concavity appears 

 scarcely sufficient for the transient reception of the young,"f which, 

 like the eggs, may readily be seen from below, through the delicate 

 net-work of twigs. Wilson says it Avas dangerous to walk under 

 these flyiug and fluttering millions, from the frequent fall of large 

 branches, broken down by the weight of the multitudes above, and 

 which, in their descent, often destroyed numbers of the birds them- 

 selves ; while the clothing of those engaged in traversing the woods 

 were completely covered with the excrements of the Pigeons," "The 

 ground was strewed with broken limbs of trees, eggs, and young 

 squab Pigeons, which had been precipitated from above, and on 

 which herds of hogs were fattening. Hawks, Buzzards, and Eagles, 

 were sailing about in great numbers, seizing the squabs from their 

 nests at pleasure."^ Axidubon's description of a night passed at one 

 of their roosting places deserves introduction here: Reaching it 

 early in the afternoon, before the pigeons had come in, " many trees 

 two feet in diameter" were observed " broken oft' at no great distance 

 from the ground; and the branches of many of the largest and tallest 

 had given way, as if the forest had been swept by a tornado." 

 "Everything pi'oved," continued Audubon, "that the number of 

 birds resorting to this part of tlie forest must be immense beyond 

 conception. As the period of their arrival approached, their foes 

 [man] anxiously prepared to receive them. Some were furnished 

 with iron pots containing siilphur, others with torches of pine-knots, 

 many with poles, and the rest with guns. The sun was lost to our 

 view, yet not a pigeon had arrived. Everything was ready, and all 

 eyes were gazing on the clear sky, which appeared in glimpses 

 amidst the tall trees. Suddenly there burst forth a general cry of 

 ' here they come !' The noise which they made, though yet distant, 

 reminded me of a hard gale at sea, passing through the rigging of a 

 close-reefed vessel. As the birds arrived and passed over me, I felt a 

 current of air that surprised me. Thousands were soon knocked 

 down by the pole men. The birds contimied to pour in. The fires 

 were lighted, and a magnificent, as well as wonderful, and almost 

 terrifying, sight presented itself. The Pigeons, arriving by thousands, 



* American Ornithology, by Alexander Wilson, vol. ii, pp. 295-6. Edinburgh, 1831. 

 f Wilson, ibid., pp. 295-6. % Nuttall, ibid., p. 633. 



