NATURE NEAR LONDON %~r~ 



During the deep snow which blocked the roads 

 and covered the fields almost a foot deep, they 

 were silent, but were constantly observed flying to 

 and fro. Immediately it became milder they re- 

 commenced to coo, so that at intervals the note of 

 the wood-pigeon was heard in the adjacent house 

 from October, all through the winter, till the 

 nesting time in May. Sometimes towards sunset 

 in the early spring they all perched together before 

 finally retiring on the bare, slender tips of the tall 

 birch trees, exposed and clearly visible against the 

 sky. 



Six once alighted in a row on a long birch 

 branch, bending it down with their weight like 

 a heavy load of fruit. The stormy sunset flamed 

 up, tinting the fields with momentary red, and 

 their hollow voices sounded among the trees. By 

 May they had paired off, and each couple had a 

 part of the copse to themselves. Instead of avoid- 

 ing the house, they seemed, on the contrary, to 

 come much nearer, and two or three couples built 

 close to the garden. 



Just there, the wood being bare of undergrowth, 

 there was nothing to obstruct the sight but some 

 few dead hanging branches, and the pigeons or 

 ringdoves could be seen continually flying up and 

 down from the ground to their nests. They were 

 so near that the darker marking at the end of the 

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