BRITISH WILD PIGEONS 245 



the time of the ripening of the corn. Often the grain 

 stooks swarm with them, and they rise in clouds as 

 they are driven from the fields. Early in autumn 

 numbers are killed. They soon become shy, and then 

 few birds are so wary or so difficult of approach. 

 After the garnering of the grain, pigeons have 

 another great harvest in beech-mast and acorns. 

 For the most part the " pannage " is picked from 

 the ground, but sometimes the birds fly up into the 

 trees and take their spoil from the branches. The 

 mast of oak and beech constitutes the staple food for 

 many months, and at this time they become ex- 

 tremely fat. Long after the snows and frost have 

 set in, flocks of ring-doves may be seen scratching 

 among the fallen leaves in search of nuts. When 

 this supply begins to fail, the pigeons resort to turnip- 

 fields, where they not only feed upon the green 

 " tops," but upon the bulbs themselves. The ring- 

 dove is essentially a soft-billed bird, and is therefore 

 unable to break through the outer rind of the root; 

 but the way is too frequently laid open by rabbits, 

 hares and rooks. 



The immense flocks of wild pigeons which are now 

 so common in winter are not all British-bred birds; 

 in autumn large numbers of them arrive from over 

 the North Sea to winter upon our shores. With 

 returning spring and sprouting woods the flocks 

 begin to break up. They are now less frequent in the 



