COLUMIilD^.. 



467 



THE RING-DOVE OR WOOD-PIGEON. 



CoLUMBA PALUMBUS, Linnaius. 



The Ring-Dove — so called from the white feathers which par- 

 tially encircle the neck — is also well known in many parts of 

 England as the Wood-Pigeon, and in the North as the Queest or 

 Cushat. Owing to the large amount of land now under turnips and 

 other green crops, which supply food during the inclement months, 

 as well as to the increase of coverts and the destruction of all the 

 large birds of prey, the numbers of this voracious species have so far 

 been augmented as to cause serious loss to agriculturists, especially 

 in the Lothians, where the bird was unknown a century ago. 

 Immense flights sometimes arrive on the east coast from the 

 Continent, and in October and November 18S4 the country between 

 Berwick-on-Tweed and Yarmouth was infested by hungry hordes. 

 On the west side it is less numerous, though pushing northwards, 

 and annually becoming more frequent in the Outer Hebrides, 

 Orkneys and Shetlands, while it has several times wandered to the 

 Faeroes. In Ireland, as in Great Britain, it is generally distributed, 

 and its numbers receive additions in winter. Even in the London 



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