252 WOODLANDERS AND FIELD FOLK 



especially in hot weather. Here it finds both food 

 and shelter, and to such spots small family parties 

 go before flocking in early autumn. Like most 

 birds, the turtle-dove migrates in the night. 

 Although delicately formed, it is possessed of con- 

 siderable powers of flight, and is by no means easy 

 to shoot. In the woods it winds its sinuous way 

 through the branches in a remarkably quick manner, 

 though when clear of cover it flies strongly and 

 swiftly. 



Care ought to be exercised in sifting supposed 

 instances of the turtle-dove's breeding in Northern 

 Britain. All through the country the bird is 

 commonly kept in confinement, and in summer 

 escaped birds sometimes manage to rear their young 

 in the open. A case came under my notice where a 

 pair of tame birds not only built, but reared two 

 broods in a shrubbery. Seeing the success of this 

 accidental experiment, six additional pairs were 

 allowed their liberty in the following spring, each of 

 which bred in the evergreens of the garden and were 

 fed daily on the lawn. These birds, however, 

 obtained much natural food, and by autumn there 

 was quite a colony of them about the house. The 

 younger birds showed a wild disposition, though 

 most were caught and taken indoors for the winter. 



The last of the wild pigeons is in some respects the 

 most interesting. This is the American passenger 



