THE WOOD-PIGEON. 2 7. 



myself taken eighty-seven horse-beans and some fragments of turnip-tops from 

 another. My views about this bird are that it should be strictly protected between 

 March and August, but shot down to the utmost during the rest of the year. 

 No better sport can be found in England than shooting Wood- Pigeons in a breeze 

 of wind, as they career over a small opening in a wood or thick plantation, 

 and their flesh, if properly treated, is, in my opinion, excellent." 



Thus it appears in the experience of this most eminent ornithologist that the 

 Wood-Pigeon is not the " unmitigated scoundrel " that has been represented, 

 but a bird with much utility and beauty to counteract the amount of damage 

 that it effects. 



The damage effected by this species is greatest in the autumn and winter, 

 when they collect together in large flocks amounting to many hundreds in number, 

 which are largely increased by migration from the Continent. These flocks roost 

 in the larger branches of tall trees, from whence they depart at daybreak to the 

 cultivated fields. They pair early in the spring and separate in pairs for nesting 

 purposes, rearing usually two and sometimes even three broods in the course of 

 the year. The nest is usually built near the borders of a wood, although some- 

 times in the middle of a thick forest, and, as the bird has become tamer, in tall 

 trees near human habitations. The nest, as built by the bird for itself, is a very 

 poor structure of twigs, so loose that the eggs may generally be seen through 

 from below. Both birds collect the materials, but it is said that the female is the 

 sole architect. In many cases the old nest of a Jay, a Crow, or a Squirrel is 

 made use of. The Wood- Pigeon is not capable of being domesticated in the same 

 manner as the Rock-Pigeon, and it is with some difficulty that the young are 

 reared, even if the eggs of the bird are put in the nest of the domestic Pigeon. 



Of late years a great change has come over the habits of this bird in England. 

 Although it was known as having existed in a tame condition in the Gardens of 

 the Tuilleries, in Paris, it was regarded as one of the wildest of our large native 

 birds. Since, however, its protection in towns, it has become exceedingly tame, 

 and may now be seen in considerable numbers in the London parks, and even in 

 such places as the Temple Gardens and those of the Law Courts, etc. The flesh 

 of the bird is very palatable, and large numbers of them find their way to the 

 markets. 



The general colour of the plumage of the Wood- Pigeon is bluish-grey ; the 

 neck is emerald-green, with a metallic gloss, and on each side of the neck is a 

 large patch of white. The length of the Wood-Pigeon is seventeen inches, the 

 female being a little smaller and duller in colour. The weight, from eighteen 

 to twenty-six ounces. The young attain their full size during the first year, 



