THE WOOD-PIGEON. 149 



THE WOOD-PIGEON. 



There is no more pleasant sound than the deep Coo-roo, 

 coo-roo of the RING-DOVE or WOOD- 

 PIGEON (Columba palumbus; family, 

 Columbidce). Campbell call its note 

 " the deep, mellow crush." Its name, 

 ring-dove, is derived from the beau- 

 tiful iridescent patch, almost a ring, 

 on both sides of the neck. It is 

 also known in some counties as the 

 Cushat, Queest, and Culver. Burns HEAD OF THE WOOD-PIGEON. 

 says : 



" Thro' lofty groves the cushat roves ; " 



and Queest is probably from the Latin, questus, a complain- 

 ing, the note being considered by some as melancholic : 



" On lofty aiks the cushats wail, 

 And echo coos the dooful tale." 



Culver is a much older term, as we find Edmund 

 Spenser using this word : 



" Like as a culver on the bared bough 

 Sits mourning for the absence of her mate." 



It is worth while, when you hear his Coo-roo, coo-roo, 

 thrice repeated, and ending with a short coo, to stop a 

 moment. If he is answered you will see him, with a loud 

 flap-flap of his wings, soar up to a considerable height and 

 then float away, descending to where his mate is waiting 

 for him, and this is often twice repeated ; and then, just 

 as he appears about to perch, up he goes again, and flies 

 to some more distant tree. 



What a fine bird he is ! bold and wary ; difficult to 

 see when perched amongst the trees, and only makes his 

 presence known by his loud flight as you come upon him. 



This bird has lately become very common in the London 

 parks, as many as forty having been seen together on the 

 lawn by Rotten Row in Hyde Park, apparently taking no 

 heed of the " madding crowd." 



