THE PASSENGER PIGEON. 135 



the afternoon. The females feed only during the forenoon. The change i- 

 inade with great regularity as to time, all the males being on the nest l>y 

 10 o'clock a. m. 



"During the morning and evening no females are ever caught by the 

 netters; during the forenoon no males. The sitting bird does not leave the 

 nest until the bill of its incoming mate nearly touches its tail, the former 

 slipping off as the latter takes its place. 



"Thus the eggs are constantly covered, and but few are ever thrown out 

 despite the fragile character of the nests and the swaying of the trees in 

 high winds. The old birds never feed in or near the nesting, leaving all the 

 beechmast, etc., there for their young. Many of them go 100 miles each 

 day for food. Mr. Stevens is satisfied that Pigeons continue laying and 

 hatching during the entire summer. They do not, however, use the same 

 nesting place a second time in one season, the entire colony always moving 

 from 20 to 100 miles after the appearance of each brood of young. Mr. 

 Stevens, as well as many of the other netters with whom we talked believes 

 that they breed during their absence in the South in the winter, asserting 

 as proof of this that young birds in considerable numbers often accompany 

 the earlier spring flights. * * * 



"Five weeks are consumed by a single nesting. Then the young are 

 forced out of their nests by the old birds. Mr. Stevens has twice seen this 

 done. One of the Pigeons, usually the male, pushes the young off the nest 

 by force. The latter struggles and squeals precisely like a tame squab, but 

 is finally crowded out along the branch, and after further feeble resistance 

 flutters down to the ground. Tlu-ee or four days elapse before it is able to 

 fly well. Upon leaving the nest it is often fatter and heavier than the old 

 birds; but it quickly becomes much thinner and lighter, despite the enormous 

 quantity of food it consumes. 



"On one occasion an immense flock of young birds became bewildered 

 in a fog while crossing Crooked Lake, and descending struck the water and 

 perished by thousands. The shore for miles was covered a foot or more 

 deep with them. The old birds rose above the fog, and none were killed. 



"At least five hundred men were engaged in netting Pigeons during 

 the great Petosky nesting of 1881. Mr. Stevens thought that they may 

 have captured on the average 20,000 birds apiece during the season. Some- 

 times two carloads were shipped south on the railroad each day. Neverthe- 

 less he believed that not one bird in a thousand was taken. Hawks and 

 Owls often abound near the nesting. Owls can be heard hooting there all 

 night long. The Cooper's Hawk often catches the stool pigeon. During the 

 Petosky season Mr. Stevens lost twelve stool birds in this way. 



"There has been much dispute among writers and observers, beginning 

 with Audubon and Wilson, and extending down to the present day, as to 

 whether the Wild Pigeon lays two eggs or one. I questioned Mr. Stevens 

 closely on this point. He assured me that he had frequently found two eggs 



