Wayne: Birds of South Carolina. 65 



forced, this valuable and magnificient species will be unknown to 

 future generations. This species is only to be met with in the 

 wilder and less settled parts of the country at the present time. 

 Man is its greatest enemy and as soon as the season is ' 'open, ' ' the 

 turkeys are located, then baited, and just as long as any come 

 to the bait they are shot from the "blind." In this manner a 

 whole brood is annihilated. Another method of procuring these 

 birds is that known as "roosting." The turkeys are located 

 late in the afternoon, and just before darkness sets in the birds 

 fly from the ground to roost in the tops of the tallest pines, where 

 they are shot during the night if it is moonlight, or at day-break. 

 This practice of shooting them by moonlight should be prohibited 

 by law. 



The beard is present in both sexes, and in old hens I have yet 

 to see it wanting. The old birds breed much earlier than the 

 younger ones. On March 30, 1896, I examined a nest which 

 contained fifteen slightly incubated eggs. The nest was situated 

 on the ground in a dense forest, and was composed of pine needles 

 and a few cane leaves. This is an exceptionally early date. 

 Most of the birds begin to lay their eggs about the middle of 

 April. A nest which contained thirteen eggs was found on May 

 4, 1897, and another nest containing thirteen eggs was observed 

 on May 22, 1897. This species, therefore, lays from thirteen to 

 fifteen eggs. The female is a very close setter, in fact so closely 

 does she incubate that it is an easy matter to catch her on the 

 nest. 



In some forward seasons the young birds are following their 

 mother by May 10. Only one brood is raised unless the eggs or 

 young have been destroyed, when the birds lay again. This is 

 characteristic of all birds from the lowest to the highest orders. 



The eggs are of a buff color speckled with brown, some speci- 

 mens having large spots or even blotches. They measure 

 2.55X1.95. 



ORDER COLUMB^E: PIGEONS AND DOVES. 



FAMILY COLUMBIA: PIGEONS AND DOVES. 



127. Ectopistes migratorius (Linn.) . Passenger Pigeon. 



Although the Wild Pigeon formerly occurred in enormous 

 numbers on the coast, there is no evidence to prove that it ever 

 bred there. It undoubtedly bred in the interior of the State, 



B« 



