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THE GROUND DOVE. 



+ C0LUMBA PASSERINA, Linn. 

 PLATE CCLXXXIII.— Males, Female, and Young. 



If the different species of Pigeons and Doves which I have described, have 

 interested you sufficiently to render you desirous of holding further converse 

 with that interesting family, and of examining for yourself, which I sincerely 

 wish you would resolve to do, you may perhaps visit the islands, which, 

 like so many bastions, protect the shores of South Carolina, Georgia, and 

 the Floridas, those spots where, in the calm of every spring morn, the air is 

 rendered balmy by the effluvia of thousands of flowers, each of which rivals 

 its neighbour in the brilliancy of its hues. Stop there, kind reader, and 

 seat yourself beneath the broadly extended arms of the thickly-leaved ever- 

 green oak, and at that joyous moment when the first beams of the sun reach 

 your eye, see the Owl passing low and swiftly over the ground, in haste to 

 reach his diurnal retreat before the increasing light render all things dim to 

 his sight; observe the leathern-winged Bat, pursuing his undulating course 

 through the dewy air, now deflecting downwards to seize the retiring 

 nocturnal insect, now upwards to pursue another species, as it rises to meet 

 the genial warmth emitted by the orb of day. Listen, — for at such a 

 moment your soul will be touched by sounds, — to the soft, the mellow, the 

 melting accents, which one might suppose inspired by Nature's self, and 

 which she has taught the Ground Dove to employ in conveying the expres- 

 sion of his love to his mate, who is listening to them with delight. 



Before I proceed to describe the habits of this interesting bird, allow me 

 to present you with the result of my observations relative to the geographical 

 distribution of the birds of the genus Columba, which are either resident in 

 the United States or visit them annually. 



The Passenger Pigeon ranges over the whole of the United States, 

 excepting perhaps the southernmost portions of the Floridas, and extends to 

 Newfoundland, where it is well known. 



The Carolina Dove ranges from Louisiana to the middle parts of the 

 State of Massachusetts, but is never seen in Maine. It reaches up the 

 Mississippi as far as Prairie du Chien, and in that direction extends to the 

 borders of Upper Canada. 



The Ground Dove is met with from the lower parts of Louisiana to Cape 



