THE OOLOGIST. 



29 



the siieen of its splendidly arrayed plumage I 

 casts the most dazzling scintillations and 

 shades of color ; and it possesses also the 

 most exquisite form and graceful habits. : 

 The reverse could not be more strongly por- I 

 trayed than in the plain, unassuming dress 

 of the latter, its slow, quiet and decisive ; 

 movements and unpretentious form present- j 

 ing a model of the groups of the extreme ' 

 cold latitudes. 



What direct influence does climate have 

 upon birds to produce this bold and varying 

 characteristic ? Yet these peculiarities are 

 not applicable to birds alone ; they prevail 

 in all organic substances, but the traces are 

 more or less obscure iu certain individual 

 bodies, the intermediary or temperate lati- 

 tudes showing but little of either character- 

 istic, and yet some of both. The variation 

 in the plumage of birds is probably one of 

 the most prominent traits observable, af- 

 fected by their geographical distribution. 



The attention of our readers is called to 

 our advertisers. Collectors contemplat- 

 ing an increase in their number of speci- 

 mens will profit by patronizing them, as 

 they are all reliable dealers and their goods 

 first class. Mr, Hudnut has a very good 

 variety of eggs and drills at very low prices. 

 Mr. Coles and Mr. Wilson likewise. Send 

 for their lists. Mr. Coles deals extensive- 

 ly in bird-skins. Ilobson's Patent Bird's 

 Egg Protector will, we hope, become pop- 

 ular under the management of Mr. Collins. 



The Ectopistes migratoria, Sw. 



Wild- Pigeon. 



T the time of this writing (April 27), 

 I have just returned from a week's 

 shooting among the Wild Pigeon, a 

 large colony of which are nesting a short 

 distance from the village of Shelby in north- 

 ern Michigan. The laws of the state pro- 



hibit any person from shooting within five 

 miles of the nesting places ; or netting with- 

 in two miles, and the law is strictly en- 

 forced. 



The nesting covers a space of country 

 some twelve miles in length, by three in 

 width. The nests are situated from thirfy 

 to sixty feet from the ground, and the out- 

 side is composed of coarse sticks, half the 

 size of one's little finger, while the inside 

 is lined with fine twigs, in some instances 

 with feathers. The nests are quite closely 

 compacted, and all those which I examin- 

 ed contained but one egg. Audubon says 

 this Pigeon lays but one q^^ when the sit- 

 ting commences ; now Wilson, quite as 

 correct an ornithologist, says it lays two. 

 A brother naturalist informs me that dur- 

 ing the summer of 1874 he found a nest 

 containing one young bird, evidently not 

 more than two days old, and also one &^g. 



During the breeding season the birds 

 make three flights daily. At the first sign 

 of light the male birds fly out to feed, re- 

 turning about ten o'clock, and during this 

 flight not a female is to be seen ; then the 

 females feed and return at two in the after- 

 noon, their mates again feeding after that. 

 When the females are feeding, the males 

 sit on the eggs, and it is confirmed by old 

 sportsmen and some naturalists that the fe- 

 male may sit on one nest in the forenoon 

 and on another in the afternoon, the nest- 

 ing being conducted on the "free love sys- 

 tem." I don't thiuk the above has ever been 

 proven by any reliable person as yet, as it 

 is a difficult matter to decide. Inuring my 

 own observations I have been unable to as- 

 certain the real trvith. 



Audubon says the Wild Pigeon has trav- 

 eled a distance of 300 miles in about six 

 hours, which it will be seen is at the rate 

 of one mile in one minute! The same au- 

 thor also makes a calculation of a mass of 

 Wild Pigeons Wilson came in contact with, 

 and says that the whole length of the mass 

 was 240 miles, and that the number com- 

 posing it must have amounted to at least 

 2,230,272,000 Pigeons, and further re- 

 marks that as large as the number seemed, 



