55 



question whether the passenger pigeon is any more entitled to 

 a place in this list than the wild turkey which was an undoubted 

 inhabitant of the vicinity of Amherst in the early part of the 

 nineteenth century. Apparently the wild pigeon is now as 

 extinct as the wild turkey in Massachusetts, and there is no 

 reason to expect it will ever return. In the spring of 1888 the 

 pigeons were quite common near Amherst ; one fine male was 

 shot and individuals were seen on two other occasions, 6 

 together on April 17, but none were seen after that date nor in 

 any subsequent years. 



42. Zenaidura macroura (Linn.). 



MOURNING DOVE. CAROLINA DOVE. 



Grayish-blue; liead and neck oclirey-bro-wn with ruby and golden irides- 

 cence; a violet-black spot back of eai'; beneath, paler than above. 

 Length, 12 inches. 



Common summer resident. Earliest arrival, March 26 ; 

 departs in October. Raises 1 brood. Eggs 2, white. Nest 

 of fine twigs in trees. Eggs laid last of May. Feeds on 

 seeds, insects, etc. Notes, plaintive "coos." 



43. Circus hudsonius (Linn.). 

 MARSH HAWK. 



Male: Bluish-ash; rump, white; belly, white thinly spotted. Length, 

 19 inches. 



Female: Dark brown above; rump, white; beneath, brownish-yellow. 

 Length, 22 inches. 



Common summer resident. Earliest arrival, March 20 ; 

 departs in October. Raises 1 brood. Eggs 3-6, dull bluish 

 white, rarely spotted. Nest of grass on the ground. Eggs 

 laid in May. Feeds on mice, insects, birds, etc. Beneficial. 



44. Accipiter velox (Wils.). 

 SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. 



Dark plumbeous; tail crossed by tour blackish bars; beneath white, 

 barred crosswise in the adult, streaked longitudinally in the young, with 

 tawny. Length, 10-14 inches. 



