The Wood-Pigeon. 199 



under dovecote pigeons the young become tame, 

 though they are at best but bad pets, their innate 

 wildness inducing them, however well they may 

 have been treated, and however happy they may 

 appear in confinement, to escape at the first oppor- 

 tunity, and retire to their natural haunts in the 

 woods. They are, in fact, incapable of domestica- 

 tion, only one case, so far as we are aware, being 

 on record of a wood-pigeon remaining, when given 

 its liberty, and mating with a dovecote pigeon, and 

 in this case, though three nests were made and 

 eggs laid in each of them, only one young bird 

 was reared. There is no doubt that these birds 

 are largely on the increase in this country, and 

 that they are also extending their range, a fact, 

 from the farmer's point of view, much to be 

 deplored. Many reasons have been given for this 

 increase, such, for example, as the greater cultiva- 

 tion of turnips and other green crops, the larger 

 number of plantations. As an inhabitant of 

 London this bird is absolutely harmless, and we 

 hope it may be long before it becomes necessary 

 for Londoners to journey into the country to make 

 the acquaintance of the wood-pigeon. 



