250 WOODLANDERS AND FIELD FOLK 



the season, from the first days of April right on 

 through summer. Two small, pure-white eggs are 

 laid, and in whatever situation the nest may be 

 it is composed of roots, dried grass and seaweed. 

 This species, like the ring-dove and stock-dove, is a 

 grain and seed feeder, and, like them, has an enormous 

 capacity for food. In search of it the rock-dove 

 makes short migrations, though it never appears in 

 great flocks. It is partial to wild land, especially 

 if it be near the coast. Brackish water it delights 

 in, and on salt marshes it may frequently be seen 

 feeding. Here it devours the lower forms of animal 

 life, especially tiny-shelled snails. It flies and feeds 

 with the other wild pigeons, though its food is far 

 more various than theirs; it also eats the roots of 

 couch-grass and the seeds of several troublesome 

 weeds. Its voice is different from that of the other 

 wild pigeons, and like the various domestic breeds 

 it has a decided aversion to settle on trees. 



The delicate turtle-dove is essentially a bird of 

 southern haunts, and only comes to Britain as a 

 summer migrant. In the woods of the south it is 

 not uncommon; though, like the nightingale and 

 some other birds, it seems gradually to be extending 

 its range. The turtle-dove arrives on our shores 

 about the beginning of May, and if the weather is 

 seasonable its soft notes are soon heard in the 

 copses. It delights in open woods with sunny glades, 



