140 



THE KING DOVE. 



collection, which was killed near Kelso in March 1878, 1 and 

 was kindly presented to me by Mr. W. C. Caverhill, Berwick- 

 on-Tweed. With regard to the local folk-lore of the Cushat, 

 Mr. Hardy writes : " It is said that Cushie Doos once laid 

 their eggs on the ground, and that cows destroyed the eggs. 

 They afterwards had recourse to trees, and cry from their 

 security, ' Kookety, coo, coo, ye'll no win at me noo.' " He 

 likewise relates that it is said " there was once a man called 

 Barney who went out to steal a cow, and the Cushie Doos 

 saw him and called to him, ' Barney, take two, two.' For 

 their knavery they have cried that ever since." 



1 The young birds in their first plumage may easily be distinguished by their 

 want of any white marks on the neck. The plumage of the Wood Pigeons which 

 come on migration to the county from the north of Europe in the autumn and early 

 winter months is in general darker and duller in hue than that of our home-bred 

 birds. 



