BIRDS OF THE AIR THE PIGEON. 



i8 5 



44. BIRDS OF THE AIR THE PIGEON. 



THE pigeon would fare poorly on the ground ; much 

 more so in the water. Its feet look as if they might 

 scratch, but they are far from being a match for the 

 quail's feet. Ground birds must be runners. But the 

 pigeon can fly indeed it can. The wild pigeon, next 



Wild Pigeon. 



to the frigate-bird of the ocean, is the swiftest of fly- 

 ers. From seventy to a hundred miles an hour is its 

 rate of speed. It seeks safety in its wings. Its food 

 grows mainly upon trees. It sleeps in the tree-top. 

 It nests there. " It is a bird of the air. 



The passenger pigeon is seventeen inches long from 



