COLUMRID.E. 295 



easy of approach, but totally unfit for eating), or the 

 formation of Societies devoted to their destruction, 

 such as that mentioned in the ' Zoologist' for 1866, 

 where the farmers of a certain district formed an 

 Association for this purpose, and not only pledged 

 themselves to the destruction of Wood Pigeons, but 

 sent circulars to their landlords requesting them 

 to assist in the destruction of these birds on their 

 estates. 



Like all the Rasorial Order, Wood Pigeons feed 

 mostly on farm produce : wheat and barley in great 

 quantities, oats occasionally (not a very favourite 

 food), peas by the quart, beans and tares, Swede and 

 common turnips (both the root and the greens), 

 clover,* rape and cabbage, all come within the range 

 of their appetite. On the other hand, the seeds of 

 various sorts of weeds especially charlock and dock 

 seeds, the latter in considerable quantities, their 

 crops having been found quite distended with it - 

 may form some little set off to the mischief done. 

 A great portion of their food also consists of 

 things which cannot be included in either of the 

 above categories, as they do neither good nor harm 

 to the farmer, such as acorns and beech-masts, which 

 form a very favourite portion of their food : to show 



* The crop of one killed by myself in April was per- 

 fectly full of clover ; in the gizzard was the same, and seeds 

 of weeds and \vhite stones. 



