The Wild Pigeon of North America 53 



been killed or are missing. These birds are long-lived, 

 having been known to live twenty-five years caged. 

 When food is abundant they nest each month in the 

 year. 



Their principal food is the mast of the forest, except 

 when curd is being secreted in their crops, at which 

 time they denude the country of snails and worms for 

 miles around the nesting grounds. Because they nest 

 in such immense bodies, they are frequently compelled 

 to fly from fifty to one hundred miles for food. 



During my early life I learned that these birds in 

 spring and fall were seen in their migrations from the 

 Atlantic to the Mississippi River. This knowledge, 

 together with my personal observation of their countless 

 numbers, led me to believe they were almost as inexhaus- 

 tible as the great ocean itself. Of course I had witnessed 

 the passing away of the deer, buffalo, and elk, but I 

 looked upon them as local in their habits, while these 

 birds spanned the continent, frequently nesting beyond 

 the reach of cruel man. 



Between 1840 and 1880 I visited in the States of 

 Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan many brooding places that 

 were from twenty to thirty miles long and from three 

 to four miles wide, every tree in its limits being spotted 

 with nests. Yet, notwithstanding their countless num- 

 bers, great endurance, and long life, they have almost 

 entirely disappeared from our forests. We strain our 

 eyes in spring and autumn in vain to catch a glimpse of 



