THE PASSENGER PIGEON. 31 



of nature. At this period the note of the Pigeon is a soft coo-coo-coo-coo, 

 much shorter than that of the domestic species. The common notes resem- 

 ble the monosyllables kee-kee—kee-kee, the first being the loudest, the others 

 gradually diminishing in power. The male assumes a pompous demeanour, 

 and follows the female, whether on the ground or on the branches, with 

 spread tail and drooping wings, which it rubs against the part over which it 

 is moving. The body is elevated, the throat swells, the eyes sparkle. He 

 continues his notes, and now and then rises on the wing, and flies a few 

 yards to approach the fugitive and timorous female. Like the domestic 

 Pigeon and other species, they caress each other by billing, in which action, 

 the bill of the one is introduced transversely into that of the other, and both 

 parties alternately disgorge the contents of their crop by repeated efforts. 

 These preliminary affairs are soon settled, and the Pigeons commence their 

 nests in general peace and harmony. They are composed of a few dry 

 twigs, crossing each other, and are supported by forks of the branches. On 

 the same tree from fifty to a hundred nests may frequently be seen: — I 

 might say a much greater number, were I not anxious, kind reader, that 

 however wonderful my account of the Wild Pigeon is, you may not feel 

 disposed to refer it to the marvellous. The eggs are two in number, of a 

 broadly elliptical form, and pure white. During incubation, the male sup- 

 plies the female with food. Indeed, the tenderness and affection displayed 

 by these birds towards their mates, are in the highest degree striking. It is 

 a remarkable fact, that each brood generally consists of a male and a female. 



Here again, the tyrant of the creation, man, interferes, disturbing the 

 harmony of this peaceful scene. As the young birds grow up, their 

 enemies, armed with axes, reach the spot, to seize and destroy all they can. 

 The trees are felled, and made to fall in such a way that the cutting of 

 one causes the overthrow of another, or shakes the neighbouring trees so 

 much, that the young Pigeons, or squabs, as they are named, are violently 

 hurried to the ground. In this manner also, immense quantities are de- 

 stroyed. 



The young are fed by the parents in the manner described above; in 

 other words, the old bird introduces its bill into the mouth of the young one 

 in a transverse manner, or with the back of each mandible opposite the 

 separations of the mandibles of the young bird, and disgorges the contents 

 of its crop. As soon as the young birds are able to shift for themselves, 

 they leave their parents, and continue separate until they attain maturity. 

 By the end of six months they are capable of reproducing their species. 



The flesh of the Wild Pigeon is of a dark colour, but affords tolerable 

 eating. That of young birds from the nest is much esteemed. The skin is 

 covered with small white filmy scales. The feathers fall off at the least 



