MISCELLANEOUS BIRDS. 



GAME in the sense in which the term is employed by sports- 

 men, strictly includes only those birds which have already 

 been discussed ; but besides these there are many other species 

 at which the gunner will have shots during his wanderings 

 in search of the true game birds. Among such may be men- 

 tioned the Wild Pigeon, the Bittern, the Sandhill and Whoop- 

 ing Cranes, and certain Loons, Grebes and Cormorants. Ex- 

 cept the last three, the birds are all eaten, though not particularly 

 delicate food. The Loons and their allies, however, are from 

 the nature of their food, which consists almost wholly of fish, utterly 

 rank and uneatable, and no more deserve a place in this work than 

 does the crow, at which the sportsman sometimes wantonly dis- 

 charges his gun. 



In New England the following recipe is given for cooking one 

 of these fish-eating birds. Having dressed your Loon or Grebe, 

 place in it an iron wedge large enough almost to fill the cavity 

 from which the intestines have been removed ; then bake or boil. 

 When you can stick a fork into the wedge your bird is ready for 

 the table. 



Ectopistes migratorius. — Swains. Wild Pigeon. Passenger Pigeon. 



The Wild Pigeon is one of our most widely known birds, and 

 although not strictly to be classed among our game birds, yet it is 

 so extensively hunted and shot, and forms so marked a feature in 

 our markets at certain seasons, that we shall devote a few words 

 to the species. The color of the adult Passenger Pigeon is above, 

 dull bluish grey ; below, dull purplish red, whitening on the cris- 

 sum ; sides of neck golden and reddish reflections ; some of the 

 wing coverts black spotted ; middle tail feathers bluish black, the 

 others white or ashy, tail cuneate, the inner webs of the tail feath- 

 ers black at base, with a chestnut patch. Length fifteen to seven- 



