THE WOODPIGEON 



ception of the smaller stock-dove, which 

 lays its eggs in rabbit burrows, and the rock- 

 dove, which nests in the cliffs, all the members 

 of the family need trees, if only to roost and 

 nest in. A more descriptive name is that of 

 ringdove, easily explained by the white 

 collar, but the bird is also known as cushat, 

 queest, or even culver. The last-named, 

 however, which will be familiar to readers of 

 Tennyson, probably alludes specifically to 

 the rock-dove, as it undoubtedly gave its 

 name to Culver Cliff, a prominent landmark 

 in the Isle of Wight, where these birds 

 have at all times been sparingly in evidence. 

 The ringdove occasionally rears a nestling 

 in captivity, but it does not seem, at any 

 time of life, to prove a very attractive pet. 

 White found it strangely ferocious, and an- 

 other writer describes it as listless and un- 

 interesting. The only notable success on 

 record is that scored by St. John, who set 

 some of the eggs under a tame pigeon and 

 secured one survivor that appears to have 

 grown quite tame, but was, unfortunately, 

 eaten by a hawk. At any rate, it did its kind 

 good service by enlisting on their side the 

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