THE WOODPIGEON 
ception of the smaller stock-dove, which 
lays its eggs in rabbit burrows, and the rock- 
dove, which nests in the cliffs, all the members 
of the family need trees, if only to roost and 
nest in. A more descriptive name is that of 
ringdove, easily explained by the white 
collar, but the bird is also known as cushat, 
queest, or even culver. The last-named, 
however, which will be familiar to readers of 
Tennyson, probably alludes specifically to 
the rock -dove, as it undoubtedly gave its 
name to Culver Cliff, a prominent landmark 
in the Isle of Wight, where these birds 
have at all times been sparingly in evidence. 
The ringdove occasionally rears a nestling 
in captivity, but it does not seem, at any 
time of life, to prove a very attractive pet. 
White found it strangely ferocious, and an- 
other writer describes it as listless and un- 
interesting. The only notable success on 
record is that scored by St. John, who set 
some of the eggs under a tame pigeon and 
secured one survivor that appears to have 
grown quite tame, but was, unfortunately, 
eaten by a hawk. At any rate, it did its kind 
good service by enlisting on their side the 
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