196 THE BIRDS ABOUT Us. 



remains of the countless hordes which well-nigh devoured " every 

 green thing" during the preceding summer and fall,' a statement 

 which will surprise ornithologists who have been accustomed to con- 

 sider birds of this family as exclusively vegetarian." 



The Turtle-dove is everywhere well known. In 

 the Middle States it is both resident and migratory, 

 and while shy and keeping much out of sight, is 

 nevertheless not a rare bird nor one difficult to find 

 if you take the trouble to look it up. At certain 

 seasons they are often seen in public roads dusting 

 themselves, and I have known them to build their 

 nests very near to dwellings ; but for all this, they are 

 a bird of the out-of-the-way nooks and corners of 

 the farms, and keep pretty close to the woods the 

 greater part of the time. Their flight-power is very 

 good, and when you startle them they speed away 

 with a whistling of the wings that is as characteristic 

 as the d -koo-koo-koo that we hear all day long from 

 April until the end of summer. 



Doves are not, like the wild pigeon, gregarious, and 

 yet we sometimes see a great many in a veiy short 

 space of time ; but however abundant, it is always a 

 close association of individuals that move quite in- 

 dependently. They do not seem to " flock" like 

 blackbirds. 



This dove is found as far west as Arizona, and Dr. 

 Coues states that it there builds its nest sometimes 

 in such thorny bushes that it seemed impossible the 

 bird should itself escape injury. This was to protect 

 itself and young against reptiles of many kinds. 

 Even in such a benighted region the doves are very 

 abundant. 



