but at that period appears rather to court than to avoid 

 the neighbourhood of human habitations, although, to 

 use a common expression, its nest may be met with 

 " everywhere." I cannot remember any sort of tree 

 common to Northamptonshire in which I have not 

 found or seen nests of this Pigeon, and it frequently 

 breeds in ivy and various evergreens that hardly attain 

 to the dignity of trees. This bird is perhaps specially 

 addicted to nesting in confers, especially spruce-firs, 

 but even where there is an abundance of these, with 

 convenient horizontal boughs as substantial support for 

 the slight platforms of sticks that constitute the Pigeons' 

 nurseries, many other trees are often selected. Although 

 I have met with this Pigeon in almost every part of 

 Europe that I have visited, my remarks apply principally 

 to the district of Northamptonshire with which I am 

 best acquainted. A great many Wood-Pigeons breed 

 with us, but in most years we are visited in the 

 autumn by large flocks of " strangers," smaller, darker 

 in colour, and somewhat differing in their manner of 

 flight from our home-bred birds. After clearing off all 

 the fallen acorns and beech-mast that they can find, 

 these visitors pass on to the southward, generally, if the 

 weather is severe, taking with them the bulk of our 

 native birds of their species. In such cases the said 

 " natives " reappear in small detachments as soon as the 

 weather is open and mild, and I think that all the 

 survivors of this class are back with us by the beginning 

 of March. The strangers, however, as a rule, do not 

 put in an appearance before April is well advanced, 

 occasionally not until May, and rarely remain for more 



