558 



THE :\1(HR.\L\G DUVE. 



'1'Ik' Wild L)o\es are nuMk-l l(i\ci> aiiil are chiefly kiunvii iDr their do- 

 mesticity. During the mating season they sometimes var\- the monotony of 

 tlie ordinar\- whislhng tliglit In' saihng aljont in graceful curves on stiffened, 

 miiseless wings. There is al\va\s an ahundance of hilling and cooing; and 

 love-making, it is to he feared, often interferes somewhat with the practical 

 side of house-keeping, .^.t least the young wife is not a good house-builder, 

 altho she ma\' be, and ilduhlless is, a kind nrnther. 



A Dove's nest is the s\-mbol i>f fraillw .\ few careless sticks or straws 

 are laid together in a platform, and Indged al a moderate height in the crotch 

 or ui)on the horizontal limb (if a tree nr ])usli. Fence-corners, the tops of 

 stumps, brush piles, and (.)\ergrown stone hea])s. are favorite places, and occa- 

 sionallv eggs are laid n])iin the ground wiili little pretense of a nest or none. 

 I have fiiund se\er;il nests in I'lW bushes entirel\- surrounded b\- water. Old 



Robins" nests and those of the Brewer's 

 agi)ie. and others, are also 

 lant adding a few clean 

 or twigs to the structure 

 Now and then, how- 

 pretty substantial nest is 

 met with, and one which re- 

 :ts credit upon (he gentle 

 ilder. 



The Doves are very 

 rilific. Eggs may be 

 und at any time from 

 ay to September in- 

 usive. Incubation lasts 

 two weeks, and since 

 the voting are of 

 rapid growth, three 

 and e \' e n f o u r 

 broods are raised in 

 a season. An ob- 

 ser\-er in southern 

 Ohio, Dr. Howard 

 Jones, declares that 

 he has seen Doves 

 sitting on fresh eggs 

 every month of the 

 year except Decem- 

 ber and January. 

 \'r;sT AND KOGs OF MOL'KxixG DOVE. Accordiug to the 



