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NATURAL HISTORY OF VERMONT. 



Part I. 



THE PASSENGER PIGEON. 



THE CAROLINA DOVE. 



iy continued till nearly dark, and hence 

 this bird, probably, received the name of 

 •INight Hawk, or Mght Jar. 



GALLINACEOCS BIRDS. 



Genus Coi.vMBA.~Li?ina:us. 



Generic Characters.— The bill, in thi.s 

 Genus, is of mnderalc size, compressed, vaiilled, 

 turgid towards the tip, which is more or Irss cur- 

 ved. The base of the upper mandibie is covered 

 with soft skin, protuberant at its base, in which 

 the nostrils are situated. Nostrils medial, longi- 

 tudinal. Tongue acute, entire; feet short, ro- 

 bust ; tarsi retie.ilaled ; loes divided ; wings mod- 

 erate J tail of 12 or 14 feathers. 



THE PASSENGER PIGEON. 

 Columba migratoria.—Lititi. 

 Description.— General color of the 

 upper plumage and breast lijrht umber 

 brown ; rump bluish, belly and^ under tail 

 coverts dirty white ; nearly all the feath- 

 ers above and on the breast tipped with 

 yellowish white, forming little crescent- 

 shaped bars ; outer webs of the primaries 

 edged with buff or rufous: tail of ]•> 

 feathers, with middle pair dark brown, 

 and longest, the others with a basal spot 

 of rufous and a central black spot or band 

 on the inner web, outer feathers shortest, 

 and white, e.xcepting the spots, much 

 onger than the folded winirs ; bill black • 

 legs and feet dull red ; breast of the male 

 with a reddish tinge. Length 1.5 inches ; 

 spread 23 inches.. 1st and 2d primaries 

 equal and longest. 



HisTORy.— The American Wild Pin- 

 eon ,s met with in greater or less num- 

 bers thi-oughout the whole region from 

 Mexico to Hudson's Bay. These birds are 

 remarkably gregarious in their habits al- 

 most always flying, roosting and breeding 

 m large flocks. When the country was 

 new there were many of their roosts and 

 breeding places in this state. Richard 

 Hazen, who run the line between this 

 state_aiid Massachusetts, in 1741, stated 



that to the westward of Connecticut riv- 

 er, he found pigeons' nests so thick upon 

 the beech trees that 500 could be cotint- 

 at one time. At Clarendon, accord- 

 ng to Dr. Williams, (Hist. vol. 1—137 ) 

 Uie pigeons bred in immense numbers. 

 Ihe trees were loaded with nests for hun- 

 dreds of acres; 25 nests being frequently 

 seen upon one tree, and the ground be- 

 neath was covered with their dung to the 

 depth of two inches. These accounts are 

 tar exceeded by what is told of their roos- 

 ting and breeding places at the west, 

 where they often covered thousands of 

 acres, and all the trees and under (rrowth 

 were killed in consequence. From 90 to 

 100 nests have frequently been counted 

 on a single tree. The nests are made of 

 twigs, the eggs are 2 and white. Pio-eona 

 are much less abundant in Vermont^than 

 torinerly, but they now, in some years, 

 appear in large numbers. 



THE CAROLL\A DOVE. 



Columba carolinciisis.—LiKtiJEva. 

 Description.— General color above 

 pa e yellowish brown ; below brownish 

 yellow ; crown and upper part of the 

 neck greenish-blue ; forehead and breast 

 vinaceous; black spot under the ear: 

 bil blackish, purplish-red at the base 

 ail of 14 feathers, with the 4 lateral ones 

 black near the extremity, and white at 

 the tip. Length 12, spread 17.-A««. 



H.sTORv. The Carolina Dove, called 

 also the T2m,eDove, is not very common 

 in Vermont Dr. Brewer saw a flock of 

 them near Woodstock in August, 1839; 

 and they have been occasionally seen in 

 other parts. From its plaintive r,<rh.cdo. 

 coo-coo, ,t is sometimes called the Mourn- 

 in? Dove. They are by no means shy, 

 are said to be easily tamed, and their flesh 

 IS pronounced equal to that of the Wood- 

 cock. 



GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 

 Birds of this order have the bill short 

 and convex; the upper mandible vaulted, 

 curved from the base or only at the point 

 nostrils basal, partly covered by an arch- 

 ed rigid membrane; feet stout, tarsus long; 

 toes usually three before and one behind 

 the latter articulated higher than the rest' 

 scarcely touching the ground at the tip! 

 sometimes wanting; wings generally 

 short and concave ; tail consisting of from 

 to 1.^ feathers. Colors of the female 

 less brilliant than those of the male. Our 

 domestic land fowls, as hens, turkics and 

 peacocks, belong to this order. 



