oOo Wright, Early Records of the Passenger Pigeon. LJuly 



dove. These are plenty at certain seasons, all over America, and 

 of great benefit in feeding the poor. The French call them ramicr, 

 the Dutch call them ringle duif, wilde duif, boom duif." 



"Wild pigeons, palumbus torquatus migratorius, see Vol. 1, p. 

 126, in their passage northward, begin to appear in New-England 

 end of February and beginning of March, but not in large numbers, 

 because they travel more inland for the benefit of last autumn 

 berries of several sorts in the wilderness; they return in their 

 passage southward, in larger quantities, end of August; and some 

 years since have been sold at 4d. currency per dozen; they at that 

 season keep towards the plantations for the benefit of their harvest. 

 They are of great advantage in their seasons towards victualling 

 our plantations; the country people feed some of them (they are 

 catched alive in nets or snares) for sometime with Indian corn, and 

 brought to market, and are good delicate eating; cuming seed or 

 its oil, are found by experience the best lure to induce the pigeons 

 to their nets. The spring flights 1751 were very large, like thunder 

 shower clouds, but soon over." 



In 1770, J. H. Wynne, in his 'General History of the British 

 Empire in America' (2 vols., London: Vol. I, p. 41), says: "New 

 England produces a great variety of fowls; such as ... . pigeons 

 . . . . " Among the feathered tribe of Connecticut Peters, in 

 17S2, notes 1 "innumerable flocks of pigeons, which fly south in 

 autumn;" 



In 'The History of New Hampshire' (Boston, 1792), the famous 

 historian Jeremy Belknap (Vol. Ill, pp. 171, 172) speaks of the 

 "Wild Pigeon, Columba migratoria." "Wild pigeons come in the 

 spring, from the southward, in great flocks, and breed in our woods, 

 during the summer months. They choose the thickest parts of 

 the forest, for the situation of their nests .... In the journal of 

 Richard Hazzen, who surveyed the Province line, in 1741, there 

 is this remark; 'for three miles together, the pigeons nests were 

 so thick, that five hundred might have been told on the beech trees 

 at one time; and could they have been counted on the hemlocks, 

 as well, I doubt not but five thousand, at one turn around.' This 

 was on the western side of the Connecticut river, and eastward of 



1 Peters. Rev. Samuel. A General History of Connecticut. 2nd edition, 

 London, 1782, p. 255. 



