174 STOCK-DOVE. 



And somewhat pensively he woo'd : 

 He sang of love with quiet blending, 

 Slow to begin, and never ending ; 

 Of serious faith and inward glee ; 

 That was the song — the song for me ! 



— Poems of Imagination. 



The song of the Wood Pigeon is heard throughout the spring 

 and summer months, and in early autumn if the weather remains 

 warm and bright, the pleasant sound may still be enjoyed.* 



A common rhythmical satire in Herefordshire is rather severe. 



Coo ! Coo ! Coo ! Coo ! 



Too much a-do 



To maintain two. 

 Coo ! Coo ! Coo ! Coo ! 



The little Wren 



Can feed her ten, 



And bring them up 



Like gentlemen. 



When they form into flocks during autumn and winter, their 

 voices are never heard. The Wood-Pigeons then become the most 

 wary of birds, ever on the alert for danger, wild and unapproachable ; 

 and so they remain, until again, as spring sets in, they separate in 

 pairs to breed, find their love notes, and in their unselfish devotion 

 to each other, become more tame, and more confident in the 

 protection of mankind. 



The wild Wood-Pigeon, rock'd on high 



Has coo'd his last soft note of love, 



And fondly nestles by his Dove, 

 To guard their downj^ _young from an inclement sky. 



COLUMBA (ENAS— Stock-Dove. 



Thou Stock-Dove, whose echo resounds thro' the glen. 

 Ye wild whistling Blackbirds in yon thorny den ; 

 Thou green-crested Lapwing, thy screaming forbear — 

 I charge you disturb not my slumbering fair. 



Burns. 



The Stock-Dove, takes its name from the fact of its nesting in 

 the boles or stocks of trees, such as pollard elms, oaks, willows, or 



*It may be that in the autumn we only hear the songs of the birds that reside 

 here, while the migrants are silent. 



