282 THE BIRDS OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



be heard in every direction about the house at 

 Lilford, and the males are often to be observed 

 mounting in the air with loud napping of the wings 

 and gliding for a few moments before pitching into 

 their favourite elm trees, as is also the common habit 

 of the Wood-Pigeon at the same season. In the 

 hollows of our old trees the Stock-Dove seldom 

 makes much, if any, nest, but lays its eggs on the 

 bare wood ; in walls and rabbit-burrows we have 

 generally found a slight nest of fine fibrous roots. 

 The eggs, two in number, are rather smaller than 

 those of the Wood-Pigeon, which they otherwise 

 exactly resemble. 



This bird usually rears two or three broods, and we 

 often find fresh eggs in September and October. 

 On the south coast of Devon the Stock-Dove haunts 

 the ivy- and bramble-clad faces of the sea-cliffs and 

 nests amongst this vegetation ; we could not, how- 

 ever, discover that it haunts the caves and crevices 

 which on many coasts are the favourite resort of the 

 true Rock-Dove, Columba livia, for which bird the 

 present species is often mistaken, but may be readily 

 distinguished by its larger size and the absence of 

 the white patch above the tail, which is always 

 conspicuous in the smaller bird. We have no record 

 of the occurrence of the Rock-Dove in Northampton- 

 shire in a wild state, though many dove-cotes in our 

 neighbourhood are tenanted by a very nearly pure 

 race : it appears, indeed, that in our Islands the 

 Rock-Dove haunts exclusively our rocky sea-coasts, 

 and is seldom found at any great distance therefrom, 

 but in Spain, and many other mountainous countries, 

 vast numbers of this species breed in inland cliffs and 

 caves. The flesh of the Stock-Dove is excellent 



