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Though shy and extremely cautious, it is by no means so shy as the Ring-Dove, and will not 

 forsake its nest when disturbed so soon as that species. It is extremely affectionate when paired ; 

 and should one be killed, its mate will search long after it ; also, if the female is disturbed when 

 on her nest, the male (who is generally on the watch not far distant) will at once join her on the 

 wing. Its note is a short, somewhat indistinct coo, which is not very often uttered ; and the love- 

 note which the male utters in the pairing-season differs considerably from that of the Ring-Dove, 

 and bears a closer resemblance to that of the Rock-Dove, but is not so clear. This note is uttered 

 whilst the bird is seated on its favourite perch, or when near the nest; when joined by his mate 

 this cooing note is uttered more rapidly and with greater earnestness, especially before the act of 

 pairing, and, like the tame Pigeon, it bills its mate with evident tenderness and affection. The 

 young birds when in the nest utter a piping note like the young of the tame Pigeon. 



Nidification commences with the present species rather early, as old birds will raise 

 as many as three broods in the season, and birds of the preceding year two. It selects the 

 hollow of a tree for the purpose ; and hence its German name Hohltaube (or Holedove) ; but in 

 some localities it breeds in rabbit-burrows, or, it is also stated, in other convenient holes in the 

 ground. The nest is very simple, being merely a scanty collection of slender twigs or stems of 

 plants, sometimes a few fine roots or a little moss ; or occasionally only a few dry leaves are 

 collected together to form a bed for the eggs. Both male and female incubate in turn, and sit 

 very close ; and both assist in feeding the young, which remain in the nest for fully three weeks 

 after leaving the egg, when they are able to fly, and are led by their parents into the fields and 

 taught to forage for themselves. When they are able to do this, the old birds commence to 

 make preparations for a second brood. The old nest-hole, when the young leave it, is in such a 

 filthy state that it cannot possibly be used again ; and therefore another suitable place has to be 

 selected, which is done without much trouble, as they are not difficult to please as regards a 

 nest-hole. In Norfolk, Mr. Stevenson writes (B. of Norf. i. p. 356), " it occupies the deserted 

 rabbit-burrows upon warrens ; it places its eggs about a yard from the entrance, generally upon 

 the bare sand, sometimes using a small quantity of dried roots, &c. barely sufficient to keep the 

 eggs from the ground. Besides such situations, on the heaths it nestles under the thick furze 

 bushes ( Ulex europcea), which are impervious to rain, in consequence of the sheep and rabbits 

 eating off the young and tender shoots as they grow, always preferring those bushes that have a 

 small opening made by the rabbits near the ground. A few pairs occasionally breed in the holes 

 of decayed trees ; this is of rare occurrence in this district." The eggs, two in number, are pure 

 white in colour, usually rather elongated oval in form, measuring about 1| by 1^ inch in size ; 

 and incubation lasts about seventeen or eighteen days. 



The Stock-Dove feeds on grain and seeds of various kinds, and when numerous is not unfre- 

 quently a great pest to the farmer. Wheat, oats, rye, linseed, and rapeseed, especially the two 

 latter, are eagerly devoured ; and it also feeds largely on the seeds of various wild plants. 

 Naumann says that he shot a young bird of the previous year in February, and found in the crop 

 and stomach barley, wheat, oats, wild oats, seeds of Polygonum convolvulus, P. aviculare, turnip 

 seed, and many grains of the following sorts, viz. Vicia, Lathyrus, Orobus, and Astragalus, inter- 

 mixed with coarse grit and a few small stones. It also feeds on the seeds of conifers, acorns, 

 beech-nuts, and blueberries. 



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