The Passenger Pigeon 67 



each day. Nevertheless he believed that not one bird 

 in a thousand was taken. Hawks and owls often 

 abound near the nesting. Owls can be heard hooting 

 there all night long. The cooper's hawk often catches 

 the stool-pigeon. During the Petoskey season Mr. 

 Stevens lost twelve stool birds in this way. 



"There has been much dispute among writers and 

 observers, beginning with Audubon and Wilson, and 

 extending down to the present day, as to whether the 

 wild pigeon has two eggs or one. I questioned Mr. 

 Stevens closely on this point. He assured me that he 

 had frequently found two eggs or two young in the 

 same nest, but that fully half the nests which he had 

 examined contained only one. 



"Our personal experience with the pigeon in Michi- 

 gan was as follows : 



"During our stay at Cadillac we saw them daily, 

 sometimes singly, usually in pairs, never more than two 

 together. Nearly every large tract of old growth 

 mixed woods seemed to contain at least one pair. They 

 appeared to be settled for the season, and we were 

 convinced that they were preparing to breed. In fact, 

 the oviduct of a female, killed May 10, contained an 

 egg nearly ready for the shell. 



"At Oden we had a similar experience, although there 

 were perhaps fewer pigeons there than about Cadillac. 



"On May 24, Mr. Dwight settled any possible ques- 

 tion as to their breeding in scattered pairs, by finding 



