242 BRITISH LAND BIEDS. 



generally diffused, and is said to be most abundant 

 in the thickly- wooded parts of Kent. This species 

 titters a peculiarly plaintive, even mournful note ; 

 and in addressing his mate, the male makes use of 

 a variety of winning gestures, cooing at the same 

 time in the most soothing and gentle accents. 

 Hence it has been ever regarded as the perfect 

 emblem of connubial attachment and constancy. 



In reference to the peculiar character of its 

 voice, sportsmen, while they speak of a flight of 

 pigeons, also say, a dule of turtles, a term derived 

 from the Latin word doleo, to mourn. 



These are all the native pigeons of our isles. 

 Few persons have any idea, from what they see 

 of these birds here, what is their countless in- 

 crease and abundance, in other parts of the world. 

 The grand places for them are between the 

 Oriental Archipelago and New Holland, and b- 

 tween the northern and central parts of America. 

 The most startling accounts are given of the 

 myriads of them often beheld in North America, 

 especially of the species called the passenger, or 

 migratory pige<fn.* Flocks extending miles in 

 length, and for days together, have been known 

 to pass over the hills during the spring from the 

 southward. M. Audubon the great American 



* This species has been killed in England, though very 

 rarely. 



