206 THE WOOD PIGEON OR RING DOVE 
time together, always monotonous, but never wearisome. It is 
generally considered to be tinged with melancholy, and on this 
account the bird itself is supposed to have been named the Queest 
or Cushat 
Deep toned 
The Cushat plains; nor is her changeless plaint 
Unmusical, when with the general quire 
Of woodland harmony it softly blends. 
. GRAHAME. 
Wordsworth celebrates it under a name generally given to the 
next species : 
I heard a Stock Dove sing or say 
His homely tale, this very day ; 
His voice was buried among trees, 
Yet to be come at by the breeze. 
It did not cease; but cooed and cooed, 
And somewhat pensively he wooed ; 
He sang of love with quiet blending, 
Slow to begin, and never ending ; 
Of sorrows, faith, and inward glee ; 
That was the song, the song for me. 
And again, still more happily: 
Over his own sweet voice the Stock Dove broods. 
The note may be imitated by attempting to whistle, in a very 
deep tone, the syllables ‘ cooe-coo-roo-o-0-o ’ ; or still more closely 
by clasping the hands together, so as to form a hollow, open only 
between the second joints of the thumbs, and blowing the same 
words over the orifice. With a little practice so close an imitation 
may be produced, that a genuine cooer may be beguiled into giving 
an answer. I may add, too, that with the same natural instru- 
ment and with a greater expenditure of breath the hoot of the 
Owl may be imitated; with a gentler effort and a quiver of the 
tongue the coo of the Turtle Dove may be nearly approached. 
The Wood Dove has never been considered to be the origin of 
the domestic Pigeon, nor will it breed in captivity. There is no 
difficulty, however, in rearing birds taken young from the nest ; 
and birds so brought up will alight with perfect confidence on the 
person of their foster nurse, and feed from his hand or mouth. 
The nest of the Wood Dove is an unsubstantial structure, com- 
posed of sticks so loosely put together that the eggs or young birds 
are sometimes visible from below. It is placed in a fork or among 
the branches of a tree; a thick fir is preferred; but nests are to be 
met with in ivy and thorn bushes either in a wood, coppice, or, 
more rarely, in a hedgerow. The number of eggs is always two. 
The male bird assists in the office of incubation. 
