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NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [10:7— Oct., 1914 



more than two' eggs, but often two and even three broods are 

 raised in a season. The nest is not always built in the lower 

 branches of the trees. You may find them in low bushes, in brush 

 piles, and on the ground. I have found quite as many nests on the 

 ground, as in any other place. One pair of doves built their nest 

 under an elm at the foot of the tree trunk. Another pair collected 

 a few sticks, placing them in a bare, open space in the woods, and 

 there reared their young. 



Fig. 2. A Young Mourning Dove about Two Weeks Old 



Few land birds have as beautiful babies as the mourning doves. 

 When a week old, their backs are uniformly and narrowly streaked 

 in black and white. What a soft, silvery look they have at this 

 time ! Their appearance is quite in keeping with the beauty of the 

 lichens that grow so near them. When two weeks old, they begin to 

 show strong resemblances to their parents and are ready to try the 

 world, outside the nest, with them. 



What healthy vegetarians the doves are! Their food is almost 

 exclusively vegetable matter. Many of the troublesome weeds in 



