374 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



clustering one above another, and the trees themselves at last killed as com- 

 pletely as if girdled by an axe. 



One of the breeding-places visited by Wilson, not far from Shelbyville, 

 Ky., stretched through the forest in nearly a north and south direction. 

 This was several miles in breadth, and upwards of forty miles in extent. 

 In this immense tract nearly every tree was furnished with nests wherever 

 there were branches to accommodate them. He was informed by those who 

 had sought to plunder the nests of the squabs, that the noise in the woods 

 was so great as to terrify their horses, and that it was difficult for one per- 

 son to hear another speak. The ground was strewed with broken limbs, eggs, 

 and young Pigeons. Hawks were sailing about in great numbers, while from 

 twenty feet upwards to the tops of the trees there was a perpetual tumult 

 of crowding and fluttering multitudes of Pigeons, their wings resounding 

 like thunder, and mingled with the frequent crash of falling trees. In one 

 instance he counted ninety nests in a single tree. 



When on his way from Shelbyville to Frankfort, Wilson witnessed an im- 

 mense flight of these birds, and was astonished at their appearance. They 

 were flying with great steadiness and rapidity in several strata deep and very 

 close together. From right to left, as far as the eye could reach, this vast 

 procession extended its immense breadth, seeming everywhere equally 

 crowded. For more than an hour by the watch he stood and observed 

 this prodigious procession, which, instead of diminishing, seemed rather to 

 increase both in numbers and rapidity. Three hours later, as he was enter- 

 ing Frankfort, the living torrent above his head was as numerous and ex- 

 tended as when first observed. Wilson computed the number of Pigeons in 

 this flio'ht at over two thousand two hundred millions. 



The most southern point at which this Pigeon is known to breed, as given 

 by AVilson, was in the Choctaw country, in Mississippi, in latitude 32°. 



Mr. Piidgway obtained a single specimen of this species in the West Hum- 

 boldt Mountains, in September, 1867. It was a young bird, and had been 

 feeding on the berries of a species of Cornus. 



The eggs of the Wild Pigeon vary considerably in length, and also some- 

 what in breadth. They average about 1.45 inches in length and 1.05 in 

 breadth. They are white in color, have an oval shape, and are equally 

 rounded at both ends. 



Subfamily ZENAIDIN^. 



Char. Tarsi stout, lengthened ; always longer than the lateral toes, and entirely 

 without feathers ; the tibial joint usually denuded. Tarsus sometimes with hexagonal 

 scales anteriorly. Tail-feathers sometimes fourteen. 



This subfamily is readily distinguished from the preceding by the longer 

 and more denuded tarsi, the feet being much better fitted for a terrestrial 

 life. The following sections belong to it : — 



