THE TURTLE-DOVE. 81 



degree than any of the other doves, the turtle when caught is 

 far more easily tamed than either the ring-dove or the stock- 

 dove. 



The note of the turtle is a very soft and mournful coo, 

 often delivered when the bird is on the ground \ and when it 

 is in a close thicket it may be very closely approached. 



The species 'now enumerated comprise all the native 

 pigeons of the British islands, whether resident or migrant. 

 With the exception of the turtle, they are all resident in 

 nearly the same localities throughout the year, but the habits 

 of some of the foreign species are very different, though not 

 so much so in Europe as in other parts of the world. The 

 grand places for them are between the Oriental Archipelago 

 and New Holland, and between the northern and central 

 parts of America. The multitudes that migrate in those 

 localities are absolutely countless ; and the species which fre- 

 quent the former are numerous, and some of them equal in 

 the colours of their plumage to the very finest of the parrots. 

 The Ajuerican ones, as they migrate en masse, and are conti- 

 nental at both ends of their journey, are more numerous in 

 the flock than those of the east and south. Their migration 

 is different from the general migration of birds, as they move 

 polarly in the autumn, when the wild berries are ripe. They 

 find ample supplies in that Ultima Thule sort of country 

 which lies to the northward of the great American lakes, and 

 also in Canada; but as the polar sea is approached, there is 

 less food for them, and they are not so numerous. They are 

 thus not sufficiently far to the north for being in the line of 

 the north-west winds, and consequently they do not come so 

 often to the British shores as their abundance would lead us 

 to conclude. But notwithstanding the great difference of 

 longitude, it appears that the principal species, the passenger 

 pigeon (Coluinba migratoria), does sometimes stray across 

 the Atlantic, for one was shot in Fifeshire on the last day of 



VOL. I. G 



