WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD 



was shot as they would at the shooting of a house- 

 pigeon. They were jealous of the few purple mar- 

 tins they had in the same degree. Why it is called 

 the turtle-dove I do not know. Probably because 

 of its kinship with the turtle-dove of Europe; but 

 this only puts the difficulty one step further back. 

 Its other name — mourning-dove— is more charac- 

 teristic ; for its song, if it may be called such, is a 

 sobbing refrain, that, tolling from afar, recalls the 

 echoing of a distant church-bell — 



" Swinging slow with sullen roar." 



The cry is frequently mistaken for that of some 

 owl; but the dove does not sing at night, or some 

 nervous people would grow wild. If it did, it would 

 take character as a banshee, and become a bird 

 of evil omen. On the contrary, its coming in 

 early spring is now welcomed as one of the first 

 signs of the sure advance of the season, and its 

 plaintive note is only a minor tone, mingling har- 

 moniously with the livelier notes of other denizens 

 of the woods. In well - settled districts, where it 

 can find food, it is more and more staying through 

 the winter, and becoming semi-domesticated about 

 the house and barn. 



The mourning-doves pair very early, and are 



130 



