The Wood-Pigeon. 195 



bird. Wood-pigeons begin to breed early in the 

 spring, and have, as a rule, two, if not three, 

 broods in the year. During the breeding season 

 the cock bird, possessed doubtless with a desire to 

 show himself off to his mate, constantly takes short 

 flights in which he rises and falls alternately, 

 occasionally clapping his wings over his back. 

 This flight is so peculiar that it alone should, one 

 would suppose, attract the attention of the least 

 observant. The nest is but a poor structure, 

 being, indeed, nothing more than a meagre 

 platform of sticks, placed one over the other, on 

 which the two white eggs are laid. Such a miser- 

 able structure, indeed, is it that few interested in 

 birds who have lived where wood-pigeons breed in 

 large numbers can have failed to notice nests 

 through which the eggs could be seen from below. 

 This nest has evidently been a source of wonder 

 for generations, and many are the legends told to 

 account for it. All, so far as we are aware, are 

 based 011 the same idea namely, that the pigeon, 

 unable to build a nest itself, and considering the 

 magpie's a beautiful specimen of bird architecture, 

 an opinion which few will dispute, asked it for 

 lessons in nest-building. The best of these 

 legends, perhaps, is that given by Montagu as 

 current in his time in Suffolk, and this is specially 

 interesting as it contains another word version of 

 the wood-pigeon's note, it is as follows : ' c Instead 

 of being a docile pupil, the pigeon kept on her old 

 cry of 'Take two, Maggie! take two.' The 

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