56 Forest Birds. 
old, the squeakers are considered a great delicacy, 
and if reared by hand from the nest, they become 
very tame. 
Buds, green leaves, seeds of plants and trees, such 
as acorns and beechmast, and grains of various kinds 
form the chief food of the Stock Dove, but being a 
much shyer and rarer bird than the woodpigeon, it 
does not invade our gardens and carry off the fruit. 
In autumn and winter, however, Stock Doves often 
join the flocks of woodpigeons, which cause so much 
devastation in the cornfields. 
This bird’s note, unlike other members of the pigeon 
tribe, is harsh and unmusical. It resembles the 
syllables ‘‘ coo-hoo,” the last one being accentuated ; 
and when this note is uttered in a wood it might 
almost be mistaken for the distant bark of a dog, 
so gruff is the sound. 
The Stock Dove is very local in its distribution, 
being plentiful in some districts, and rare, or entirely 
absent, in others. It is abundant in certain localities 
in most of the midland and southern counties of 
England, but becomes rarer on the whole farther 
north ; although of late years it has been increasing 
rapidly, and having spread northwards considerably, 
has now become numerous in several counties in 
Scotland. In some parts of the country it remains 
all the year round, while in others it is migratory, 
