378 LAND-BIRDS AND GAME-BIRDS 



show an affinity in several ways to the Raptores, or birds of 

 pre}-, as well as in structure to the Gallince. 



I. ECTOPISTES 



(A) MiGRATORius. Wild Pigeon. Passenger Pigeon. 



(In Massachusetts, most common as a migrant). 



(a). About sixteen inches long. Tail-feathers twelve. ,^ , 

 above, dull-blue ; beneath, dull red, palel- behind. Sides of 

 the neck highl}' metallic. Back, and part of the wings, olive- 

 tinged. Shoulders black-spotted. Primaries, and long middle 

 tail-feathers, black (or dark) ; the former variousl}^ edged. 

 Outer tail-feathers white or bluish ; their inner webs black, and 

 chestnut, at the base. $ , much duller above, and blue or gray 

 beneath. 



(6). The nest, a frail structure of twigs, is built on some 

 branch in the woods. In April or Ma}', according to latitude, 

 one or two eggs are laid. These are elliptical, and pure white, 

 and measure about 1-50 X 1"10 of an inch. 



(c). No birds could more appropriately be chosen as em- 

 blems of their country than the Wild Pigeons. They occur 

 througliout a large part of North America, and often in such 

 prodigious numbers, that single companies have been estimated 

 to contain fifty times as man}' pigeons as there are now inhab- 

 itants in the United States. They wander almost continually 

 in search of their food, which consists chiefly of grain, seeds, 

 beech-nuts, acorns, and berries. They i^ossess great power of 

 flight, and move with a rapid beating of the wings at the rate 

 of sixty miles an hour or often more. On aligliting, they flap 

 the wings violently, as if to break tlie force of their impetus. 

 If frightened from their roosts (to which they frequently resort 

 several nights in succession), they rise with a loud roar. When 

 on the ground, they invariably walk, but with no little grace. 

 Many of their habits may be traced in those of tame pigeons, 

 and in the appearance of a single individual there is often a 

 striking analogy to that of a hawk. In many places they have 

 become comparatively rare through the excessive persecution 

 of man, in addition to the raids made upon them by birds of 



