THE PASSENGER PIGEON IN PENNSYLVANIA 69 



cept in one or two varieties that are more puzzling, 

 even to trained observers. 



Their powers of wing are usually great, the pigeon 

 being proverbially swift and enduring. They are 

 found in almost all parts of the globe, from the arctic 

 circle to the antarctic, where vegetation supplies food 

 for them to feed upon. In the warmer regions they 

 are most plentiful. In this country their colors are 

 soft and pleasing, their necks glowing with a changeful 

 beauty, but not particularly striking for depth or bril- 

 liancy ; while in the tropics the pigeons are among the 

 most magnificent of the feathered tribes, their plumage 

 being imbued with the richest colors, and often assum- 

 ing elegant forms. 



For distributing the seeds, upon which they sub- 

 sist, the pigeons are usually useful, and of great bene- 

 fit. For utility the Fruit Pigeons of Oceanica are a 

 good example. In Pellew and the neighboring islands 

 it is a forest-loving bird, taking up its residence in the 

 woods, where it finds abundance of food. The favorite 

 diet is the soft covering of the nutmeg, known as 

 *'Mace," and the flavor which this aromatic food im- 

 parts to the flesh is so peculiarly delicate that the 

 pigeons are in great request for the table, and are shot 

 in large numbers. During the nutmeg season food is 

 so abundant that the pigeons become so extremely 

 plump, that when they are shot and fall to the ground 

 they often burst asunder. 



As an agency for disseminating, far and wide, the 

 seeds of the remarkable nutmeg tree pigeons are most 



