66 The Passenger Pigeon 



as well as many of the other netters with whom we 

 talked, believes that they breed during their absence 

 in the South in the winter, asserting as proof of this 

 that young birds in considerable numbers often accom- 

 pany the earlier spring flights. 



"Five weeks are consumed by a single nesting. Then 

 the young are forced out of their nests by the old 

 birds. Mr. Stevens has twice seen this done. One 

 of the pigeons, usually the male, pushes the young off 

 the nest by force. The latter struggles and squeals pre- 

 cisely like a tame squab, but is finally crowded out along 

 the branch, and after further feeble resistance flutters 

 down to the ground. Three or four days elapse before 

 it is able to fly well. Upon leaving the nest it is often 

 fatter and heavier than the old birds; but it quickly 

 becomes much thinner and lighter, despite the enor- 

 mous quantity of food it consumes. 



"On one occasion an immense flock of young birds 

 became bewildered in a fog while crossing Crooked 

 Lake, and descending struck the water and perished by 

 thousands. The shore for miles was covered a foot 

 or more deep with them. The old birds rose above the 

 fog, and none were killed. 



"At least five hundred men were engaged in netting 

 pigeons during the great Petoskey nesting of 1 8 8 1 . Mr. 

 Stevens thought that they may have captured on the 

 average 20,000 birds apiece during the season. Some- 

 times two carloads were shipped south on the railroad 



