THE WOODPIGEON 
of young rape, only a few acres in all, which 
had been uncovered by the drifting snow, 
and had laid it as bare as if the earth had 
never been planted. Seeing what hearty meals 
the woodpigeon makes, it is not surprising 
that it should sometimes throw up pellets 
of undigested material. This is not, however, 
a regular habit, as in the case of hawks and 
owls, and is rather, perhaps, the result of 
some abnormally irritating food. 
Pigeons digest their food with the aid of a 
secretion in the crop, and it is on this soft 
material, popularly known as " pigeons' 
milk," that they feed their nestlings. 
This method suggests analogy to that of 
the petrels, which rear their young on fish- 
oil partly digested after the same fashion. 
Indeed, all the pigeons are devoted parents. 
Though the majority build only a very pre- 
tentious platform of sticks for the two eggs, 
they sit very close and feed the young ones 
untiringly. Some of the pigeons of Australia, 
indeed, go even further. Not only do they 
build a much more substantial nest of leafy 
twigs, but the male bird actually sits 
throughout the day, such paternal sense of 
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