CHAPTER II 



PIGEONS 



CEYLON, like most or all eastern countries, is well endowed 

 with doves and pigeons, both in numbers and varieties. 

 To my mind the pigeons form one of the great charms of 

 the jungle country. I like to watch their swift, graceful 

 flight, and love to hear their melodious calls ; the 

 " ku-rukity-coo " of the common spotted dove ; the low, 

 plaintive " coo," from the depth of the forest, of the lovely 

 bronze-wing; the deep "wuk-woo" of the grand imperial 

 green pigeon, and the beautiful whistling call of the pompa- 

 dour green pigeon ; listening to them, and other wonderful 

 jungle sounds, the cares of life and trammels of civilisation 

 are forgotten, and one feels at peace with all the world. 



Strictly speaking, pigeon shooting hardly counts as a 

 branch of sport. It is usually only an " off-day " recrea- 

 tion, or when in want of something for the pot. They 

 are not met with in such numbers as to offer an induce- 

 ment to make a day of it, except, perhaps, in the case 

 of fruit-eating pigeons at the time when many of the 

 jungle trees are in fruit, as in August and September. 

 They then seem to lose their usual caution, but generally 

 they are so shy and wary that, although when you begin 

 shooting there may be hundreds about, by the time you 

 have fired two or three shots they will all have dis- 

 appeared like magic. If you really want to make a 

 bag, however, for camp food, the only way is to find a 

 fruit tree to which they, particularly the orange-breast 



I 7 B 



