Pigeons and Doves 



such negligence. Fortunate are the baby doves when their lazy 

 mother scatters her makeshift nest on top of one that a robin has 

 deserted, as she frequently does. It is almost excusable to take 

 her young birds and rear them in captivity, where they invariably 

 thrive, mate, and live happily, unless death comes to one, when 

 the other often refuses food and grieves its life away. 



In the wild state, when the nesting season approaches, both 

 birds make curious acrobatic flights above the tree-tops ; then, 

 after a short sail in midair, they return to their perch. This 

 appears to be their only giddiness and frivolity, unless a dust- 

 bath in the country road might be considered a dissipation. 



In the autumn a few pairs of doves show slight gregarious 

 tendencies, feeding amiably together in the grain fields and retir- 

 ing to the same roost at sundown. 



t98 



