1 82 THE BOOK OF MIGRATORY BIRDS 



before the young are fed. This process is carried on 

 more by the agency of the receiver than of the giver, as 

 the young birds, instead of opening their mouths and 

 allowing the food to be dropped in, help themselves by 

 inserting their bills into the sides of the old bird's mouth. 



Their mode of drinking differs from that of the true 

 gallinaceous birds ; they do not take short sips, lifting the 

 head after every draught, but satisfy their thirst by one 

 continuous immersion of the whole bill. 



They build their nests of a few sticks, and lay two 

 white eggs. 



The food and habits of wood pigeons vary with the 

 season. In spring and summer they are most frequently 

 seen alone or in pairs. They then feed principally on the 

 tender leaves of growing plants, and often commit great 

 ravage in fields of beans and peas. Spring-sown corn is 

 attacked by them both in the grain and the blade, and as 

 soon as young turnips have put forth their second pair 

 of leaves, they, too, come in for their share of devastation. 



As the season advances, they visit the cornfields, 

 especially those in the vicinity of their native woods. They 

 prefer, above all, those parts where the corn has been laid 

 by rain or wind, and where a neighbouring grove or 

 thicket will afford them a ready retreat if disturbed. They 

 have become a scourge of agriculture, and hence the war 

 which is now systematically waged, by organised shoots, 

 against them. They are in great demand as an article of 

 diet, but, being very cautious and shy, are somewhat 

 difficult of approach. I have given my experiences, how- 

 ever, in the article which follows. 



THE ENEMY OF THE FARMER THE QUIST. 



It is true that the yeoman in the centre and south of 

 England has latterly been relieved of this pest by the 

 recently organised pigeon drives, notably in Hereford- 

 shire and the neighbouring county of Gloucester, but sad 

 havoc is still wrought by these birds in spring and the 



