THE RINGDOVE. 335 



season, we can see the wisdom of Providence very manifestly 

 in the ardency of his passions.' 



The nest which the bird defends with such skill and courage 

 is very well concealed in a dense thicket, and the bird is always 

 best pleased if it can find a bramble-bush thick in foliage and 

 well beset with thorns. Sometimes it is forced to content itself 

 with a vine or a cedar, and in any case it is seldom more than 

 four or five feet from the ground. The outer wall is made of 

 leaves, within which is a layer formed of the thin bark of the 

 grape-vine, and the line is formed of dried grasses and fibrous 

 roots of plants. 



Of our four British pigeons, two are branch-builders. The 

 Stockdove places its nest in holes in trees, in holes in the ground, 

 or on the tops of pollard oaks, willows, and similarly crippled 

 trees. The Rockdove makes its rude nest in the crevices of 

 the rocks which it frequents. But the Ringdove and the Turtle- 

 dove are true branch-builders, and are therefore noticed in 

 this place. 



We will first take the Ringdove {Columba palumbus), some- 

 times called the Wood-pigeon, the Woodquest or queest, and 

 the Cushat. 



The nest of the Ringdove is placed in a variety of localities, 

 for the bird is not in the least particular in this respect. Some- 

 times it is situated near the top of a lofty tree, and sometimes 

 it is found in a hedge only a few feet from the ground. I have 

 seen nests in both localities. 



Mr. Waterton mentions a curious circumstance connected 

 with this bird. In a spruce fir-tree there was the nest of a 

 magpie, containing seven eggs, which were removed and those 

 of the jackdaw substituted. Below this nest a Ringdove had 

 chosen to fix her abode, and so the curious fact was seen, that 

 on the same tree, in close proximity to each other, were mag- 

 pies, jackdaws, and Ringdoves, and all living in perfect amity. 

 It might have been supposed that the magpies and jackdaws 

 would have robbed the nest of the Ringdove, but such was not 

 the case. Moreover, the bird knew mstinctively that she would 



z 5 



