430 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



it was the wolves' turn, the howls of which saluted our ears. 

 Foxes, lynxes, cougars, bears, rats, opossums, and martens, bounding, 

 running, climbing, pressed to the quarry, whilst eagles and falcons of 

 different species flew down from the air to take their part of such rich 

 booty. The sportsmen then, in their turn, entered into the midst of 

 the dead, the dying, and the wounded. The pigeons were piled in 

 heaps, each took what he wished, and the pigs were left to satiate 

 themselves on the remainder." 



These massacres are in nowise injurious to the existence of this 

 species. In short, according to Audubon, the number of these 

 Pigeons becomes doubled or quadrupled in a single year.* 



COLOMBARS. 



This family, established by Levaillant, comprises some species, 

 which belong entirely to the hot countries of Asia and Africa. 

 These birds are characterised by thick, strong, bent beaks, which 

 enable them to break the envelopes of the fruits which serve them 

 for food. They fly less rapidly than birds of the Dove family, and 

 coo in a different manner. They inhabit woods, and build in holes 

 in trees. Their flesh is good. The principal species are found in 

 Abyssinia, Senegal, and the Indian Archipelago. 



* In this supposition the great naturalist is wrong, for annually these birds are 

 becoming much scarcer. In fact, in many parts of the United States, where they 

 were abundant in his time, they are now unknown. — Ed. 



