2138 PIGEONS AND SAND GROUSE 



Another British species is the stock dove ( C. anas) , often confused 

 with the rock dove, which it resembles in size and general color, al- 

 though distinguished' by having the rump gray instead of white. This pigeon is 

 especially common in the southern and eastern counties of England, and large flocks 

 may be seen feeding in the fields, frequently in company with wood pigeons. The 

 places chosen by this bird for a nesting site are varied. It frequently breeds on 

 open ledges in the face of a steep cliff (never in caves), and in rabbit burrows where 

 the soil is light and sandy, or under the shelter of dense furze. Numbers of nests 

 are placed in trees, a favorite situation being among the dense bunches of twigs sur- 

 rounding the stems of old elms. 



The third and largest British species is the wood pigeon (C. palum- 



Wood 



bus) , recognized by the broad white patch on each side of the lower 



part of the neck as well by its variously-tinted breast and the white band along the 

 edge of the wing. Its range extends across Europe as far east as Northern Persia, 

 and it is also found in Northwest Africa, the Azores, and Madeira. The destruction 

 of the larger birds of prey, as well as the extent of land devoted to plantations and 

 green crops, probably accounts for the vast increase in numbers of this pigeon. That 

 the countless swarms of these voracious birds in parts of the country do an immense 

 amount of damage, cannot be denied, but that much of their food often consists of 

 worthless seeds is a fact that may be easily ascertained by examining the contents 

 of their crops. Booth remarks that ' ' shortly before harvest wood pigeons may often 

 be seen flying in small parties to the fields of wheat and barley; after wheeling round 

 for a time, the birds will disappear from view into the standing corn. An examina- 

 tion of the state of the ground on which they were lost sight of would doubtless 

 cause astonishment to those who imagined that the birds were in pursuit of grain; 

 on reaching the spot it would be discovered that for a considerable space the crop 

 was exceedingly scanty, completely choked, in fact, by a mass of weed rank and 

 strong, whose seeds, well-nigh ripe, had proved the sole attraction. Immense flights 

 of these birds arrive on the northeast coast in October and November from the 

 Continent, and about that time of year large flocks, which have recently arrived ex- 

 hausted by their long journey, may be observed fluttering along the coast and about 

 the fir plantations. In the L,ondon parks it has now become one of the commonest 

 birds, and is steadily increasing in numbers, many pairs breeding each year." 



Some remarkable statements have been made concerning the habits 

 of the band-tailed pigeon (C.fasdata) t which somewhat resembles the 

 common wood pigeon in having a narrow white band or half collar on the nape, and 

 is found in the western states of North as well as in Central America. In Oregon 

 it sometimes breeds on the ground, and the normal number of two eggs are laid, 

 but in Arizona, where it appears to nest in nearly every month of the year but a 

 single egg is laid. Mr. O. C. Poling has ascertained that this bird is often in the 

 habit of carrying off its eggs when frightened from its nest. He remarks that "in 

 regard to their carrying the egg about, I have, in addition to the cases noted, shot 

 two other females having the egg imbedded in the feathers of the belly, and further 

 held by the legs while flying, but in such cases they seem simply to alight on the 

 limb of a spruce, and incubate there without any nest. This accounts for the shoot- 



