CHAPTER VII 

 PIGEONS AND DOVES 



Lesson from Passenger Pigeon. What is supposed to 

 have been the last surviving passenger pigeon on earth died 

 in the Cincinnati Zoological Gardens, September i, 1914, 

 and thus another notable species has evidently perished from 

 the earth. Had " applied ornithology" been in vogue even 

 thirty years ago this notable bird might have been saved to 

 posterity. It was easily kept and propagated in confinement. 

 At the least, it might have been saved like the buffalo, 

 and with determination even more might have been done. 

 It is too late, but there are still other species of this Order of 

 Columbae. 



Mourning Dove. The mourning dove is an allied species 

 so similar in appearance to its extinct relative that many 

 people still mistake it for the latter. It is still found over 

 much of North America, though often in small numbers. 

 Thirty years ago it was a popular game-bird, but the fate 

 of the passenger pigeon has so alarmed the public that in 

 many States it cannot now be lawfully hunted. Despite 

 protection in some quarters, it is evidently shot ruthlessly 

 elsewhere, or in defiance of law, for in some regions, espe- 

 cially the Eastern States, it is scarce and waning. 



An Experiment. This species could probably be made 

 abundant artificially if the laws permitted and if the bird- 

 loving public were encouraged to assist. Recently I talked 

 with Ernest A. Watts, keeper of the great aviary of Mrs. F. 



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