FIRST-COMERS. 45 



sobbing refrain, that, tolling from afar, recalls the echoing 

 of a distant church-bell 



"Swinging slow with sullen roar." 



The cry is frequently mistaken for that of some owl ; 

 but the dove does not sing at night, or some nervous peo- 

 ple would grow wild. If it did, it would take character 

 as a banshee, and become a bird of evil omen. On the 

 contrary, its coming in early spring is now welcomed as 

 one of the first signs of the sure advance of the season, 

 and its plaintive note is only a minor-tone, mingling har- 

 moniously with the livelier notes of other denizens of the 

 woods. 



The mourning-doves pair very early, and are as affection- 

 ate in their attachments as are most of the doves and pig- 

 eons, whose " billings and cooings " have become exagger- 

 ated into a proverb to express the first enthusiasm of young 

 love. Their home is an indifferent affair, but perhaps its 

 very scantiness may serve to benefit its owners by making 

 it less conspicuous among the almost leafless branches, where 

 it is likely to be placed early in the season. The nest is not 

 by any means always in a tree, although a snug thorn-apple 

 offers temptations that few doves can resist ; but it may be 

 put on the flat top of a stump, on the protruding end of a 



