The Mourning Dove 369 



gulping it down as though in a desperate 

 hurry. 



The flesh of the mourning, or CaroHna, dove 

 when in good condition is exceedingly palatable, 

 which causes the bird to be eagerly pursued in 

 certain parts of the country, notably the South. 

 There, dove-shooting is a popular sport, and a 

 green hand at it will find the swift fliers anything 

 but easy marks. I have done but little of it, and 

 that mostly in the North, the chief reason for the 

 neglect of the dove being the abundance of other, 

 and in my opinion better, game. Late in the 

 season the fully matured birds scatter far and wide 

 during the day, and toward dusk come whistling 

 back to the common roost. At that time, a man 

 in the line of flight can have some very pretty 

 shooting, single chances being the rule as the doves 

 straggle past. At many points in the South, this 

 flight is heavy and the guns keep up an irregular 

 popping. In the North, one could hardly expect 

 more than from a half-dozen to a dozen chances 

 of an evening. 



A great many excellent people are given to rail- 

 ing against dove-shooting, but their objections 

 have no solid foundation. The fact is that, from 

 the story of the Flood down to that more notable 

 reference to the Dove, we have naturally held the 

 name dear. Had the present dove chanced to 

 have been named " chicken-hawk," or " crow," not 



