XV THE WOOD-PIGEON I37 



after the sowing-time, and when the corn is nearly ripe, or for a 

 short tinrie after it is cut. Certainly I can enter into the feelings 

 of a farmer who sees a flock of hundreds of these birds alighting 

 on a field of standing wheat or devouring the newly-sown oats. 

 Seeing them so employed must for the moment make him for- 

 get the utility they are of at other times. For my own part, I 

 never shoot at a wood-pigeon near my house, nor do I ever 

 kill one without a feeling of regret, so much do I like to hear 

 their note in the spring and summer mornings. The first de- 

 cisive symptom of the approach of spring and fine weather is 

 the cooing of the wood-pigeon. Where not molested, they are 

 very fond of building their nest in the immediate vicinity of a 

 house. Shy as they are at all other times of the year, no bird 

 sits closer on her eggs or breeds nearer to the abode of man 

 than the wood-pigeon. There are always several nests close 

 to my windows, and frequently immediately over some walk, 

 where the birds sit in conscious security, within five or six feet 

 of the passer-by ; and there are generally a pair or two that 

 feed with the chickens, knowing the call of the woman who 

 takes care of the poultry as well as the tame birds do. 



I have, frequently attempted to tame young wood-pigeons, 

 taking them at a very early age from the nest. They generally 

 become tolerably familiar till the first moult ; but as soon as 

 they acquire strength of plumage and wing, they have invariably 

 left me, except in one instance which occurred two years ago. 

 I put some wood-pigeons' eggs under a tame pigeon of my 

 children's, taking away the eggs on which she was sitting rt the 

 time. Only one of the young birds grew up, and it became 

 perfectly tame. It remained with its foster parents, flying in 

 and out of their house, and coming with them to be fed at the 

 windows. After it had grown up, and the cares of a new nest 

 made the old birds drive it out of their company, the wood-pigeon 

 became still tamer, always coming at breakfast-time or whenever 

 he was called to the window-sill, where he would remain as long 

 as he was noticed, cooing and strutting up and down as if to 

 challenge attenticn to his beautiful plumage. 



However, like all pets, this poor bird came to an untimely 

 end, being struck down and killed by a hen-harrier. I never 

 on any other occasion saw a wood-pigeon remain perfectly tame, 

 if left at liberty ; .and if they are, entirely confined, they seldom 



