64 Kalm, Wild Pigeons in North America. l_Jan" 



In addition to the kinds already enumerated they also consume 

 various other seeds and berries of trees and plants which grow in 

 this country. 



The trees above referred to, the seeds and berries of which the 

 Pigeons are so fond of, grow in the forests of North America nearly 

 everywhere in great abundance. In a good many places, especially 

 further inland, oaks, elms, beeches and the red-flowered Maple con- 

 stitute almost alone, with the addition of the Walnut tree, the 

 entire forest tract. Thus it will be seen how the all-wise Creator, 

 even in the case of these birds, has so wisely adapted the size of the 

 food supply to the number of mouths to be fed. 



I have also observed that the Pigeons have a special fondness 

 for the kind of soil which is much mixed with common salt [alka- 

 line deposits]; this soil serves them as food, as a spice to blend 

 with the food, or for its medical properties, — I do not know which. 

 At the Salt springs of Onondago [sic], in the tribe of the Iroquois 

 Indians, where the soil is so strongly mixed with salt that the ground 

 during a severe drought becomes entirely covered with it and as 

 white as frost, making it impossible for plants to grow, I noticed 

 with astonishment, in the month of August, 1750, how covetous 

 the Pigeons were of this kind of soil. The Savages in Onondago 

 had built their huts on the sides of this salt field, and here they 

 had erected sloping nets with a cord attachment leading to the huts 

 where they were sitting: when the Pigeons arrived in swarms to 

 eat of this salty soil, the Savages pulled the cords, enclosing them 

 in the net, and thus at once secured the entire flock. At certain 

 times, when they came in such numbers that the ground could 

 hardly be seen for them, the Savages found it more advisable 

 to use a gun, as by a single discharge of birdshot they could some- 

 times kill as many as 50 or more; and this proved a splendid 

 source of food supply. 



These Wild Pigeons fly in the same manner as other Pigeons; 

 and as soon as they have alighted in a tree or other place they have 

 a habit of making a clapping sound with their wings which, ac- 

 cording to some, is a signal for all the others to alight. At times 

 and when they have had sufficient food, they are quite timid, 

 especially the old birds. Therefore, when one wishes to shoot 

 them it is best to walk to and fro among them, on the ground, 



