THE EING DOVE. 135 



Pigeons, which alighted amongst the branches overhead. 

 It was advisable to allow the birds to settle for a short 

 time before aim was taken, for they always looked well 

 about them immediately after they perched, their sharp eyes 

 quickly discovering any movement below, in which case 

 they at once ilew off in great alarm. They could also 

 be shot on the wing as they approached or left the tree. 

 I have sometimes killed twenty or thirty in the course of 

 an hour or two in this manner ; a quiet, sultry afternoon 

 about the beginning of August being the most favourable 

 time for success, as the Pigeons then came in extraordinary 

 numbers to feed. They were obtained in the same manner 

 in the spring months when they frequented the newly-sown 

 fields to pick up the scattered grain, but as there were 

 then no leaves on the trees or hedges to help to hide the 

 shooter, his place of concealment had to be more closely 

 constructed to screen his movements when taking aim. A 

 few stuffed Cushats were used as decoys, and were placed 

 on the " laid " wheat in the neighbourhood of the tree 

 underneath which the shooter was hidden ; or, in the case 

 of newly-sown fields, within range of his retreat ; and the 

 birds which were killed were set on the ground near them, 

 with their heads supported by small forked sticks, to make 

 them look as if they were alive. These attracted Pigeons 

 passing overhead so powerfully that it generally happened 

 that they came down and alighted as soon as they saw 

 them. I often observed that after settling beside the 

 decoys, the visitors stood looking about them for a short 

 time before commencing to feed ; sometimes they walked 

 up to the lures to make a closer inspection of them, and 

 when this did not prove satisfactory they took alarm and 

 flew away. On several occasions I have seen male Cushats 

 attempting to pair with the stuffed decoys. 



The destruction of crops by this voracious bird became 



