THE STOCK DOVE 147 



haps by far the most frequently places it among the perennial 

 foliage of that plant. The above situations are chosen where 

 the timber is but little decayed. Where, however, age and 

 the wintery blasts have left their mark upon the trees, and 

 hollow trunks and decaying limbs abound, you must search 

 for the Stock Dove's eggs in holes similar to those which the 

 Jackdaw selects for domestic purposes. So far as my own ob- 

 servations extend, the Stock Dove is decidedly a hole builder; 

 for if holes in trees are wanting it seeks the shelter of deserted 

 nests of other birds ; or failing them, the dark seclusion of an 

 ivy-covered tree, where, deep among the glossy foliage, it can 

 rear its young unseen and in peace. In treeless districts a 

 hole in the side of some quarry on the moors, or the crevice of 

 a cliff, is selected, and in warrens it shares the burrows with 

 the rabbits. The nest of the Stock Dove is very slight ruder 

 perhaps than the Eing Dove's, and in many instances a nest 

 is dispensed with altogether. When in the branches it is 

 merely a few twigs a slight trellis -like platform of sticks ; 

 and when in holes of timber, or on the tops of pollard trees, 

 the decaying wood or mayhap a few straws form the bird's only 

 bed. The eggs of the Stock Dove are never more than two in 

 number, and are pale creamy-white in colour a peculiarity 

 which always serves to distinguish them from those of the 

 Eock Dove and Wood Pigeon. Throughout the breeding- 

 season the Stock Dove is a remarkably shy and retiring bird, 

 and but rarely indeed betrays the whereabouts of its nest. 

 Should you approach the nest the old bird often remains 

 sitting upon the eggs or young until almost touched by the 

 hand, and in some cases allows itself to be captured, especially 

 if the eggs are much incubated. 



There is another point in the economy of the Stock Dove 

 which the careful naturalist will not fail to notice, and that is, 

 the bird's singular partiality for the company of its own 

 kindred during the nesting season. Unlike the Eing Dove, 



