IO4 WILD NATURE IN STRATHEARN. 



to the others. In twos and threes they now 

 arrive from all quarters, falling, as it were, from 

 the sky. It is this gregarious habit and the 

 signs of food that make the Wild Pigeon fall 

 an easy prey to the gun by using either natural 

 or artificial decoys. 



In the Carse of Gowrie, during spring or 

 autumn, a good shot may, with decoys, secure 

 fifty or more per day, while concealed in a 

 hut rudely constructed of branches and placed 

 at the side of a field newly sown with wheat. 

 The Ring-Dove is very fond of wheat, also of 

 beans and peas, and the quantity of beans 

 the bird can pack away in its crop 

 is sometimes astonishing. The crop is very 

 often so gorged with food that on being 

 shot it will burst when the bird's body 'strikes 

 the ground. 



When feeding in flocks Ring-Doves may be 

 noticed continually rising from the ground and 

 flying a short distance before again alighting, which 

 makes it very difficult to approach them without 



