686 Food-Habits of Wood Pigeons. [feb., 



The Board of Agriculture have received from Mr. W. E. 

 de Winton, Orielton, Pembroke, the following note (dated 



23rd January, 1908) on the habits and 

 Food-habits of food of wood-pigeons : — 

 Wood Pigeons.* " Since the 10th December several 



pigeons have been killed weekly, the 

 contents of their crops examined and notes taken of the fields on 

 which the birds were usually feeding. In this neighbourhood there 

 is no beech mast this year and acorns are very scarce. No 

 large flocks of pigeons are to be seen, and I doubt if any 

 migratory birds have found their way to this part of the country. 

 During the mild and damp weather from the 18th to the 20th 

 of December the pigeons were feeding mainly on the spangle 

 gall found on the fallen oak leaves, and on rape and swede 

 tops. Individual crops would vary from being almost entirely 

 composed of one or other of these substances to a mixture of 

 all three. For instance, among ten birds killed between 

 the 10th and 17th December, there were full crops composed 

 of : (1) Spangle galls, about 20 oats and one acorn ; (2) swede 

 tops with a few galls ; (3) rape and a few ivy berries and 

 spangle galls. 



" When the east wind dried the land and some ploughing 

 was done, the birds drew on to the freshly turned soil in search 

 of the sweet and succulent root of the silver weed (Potentilla 

 anserina), with which scourge parts of our fields are much 

 infested. Some seemed to prefer an exclusive diet of this root, 

 while others mixed it with a little rape or swede tops. During 

 the very severe weather at the end of the year, when we had 

 20 degrees of frost for four consecutive nights, the ploughed 

 land was a favourite feeding ground as the roots of the silver 

 weed protruding from the turned furrows could be readily 

 broken off. This food, broken in short length with frozen 

 earth adhering to it, filled the crops with a soft muddy mass 

 to which was added some ivy leaves and berries. Some birds, 

 however, still held on to the rape. Since the frost, more 

 ploughing has been done and the main food of the wood- 

 pigeons seems to be the roots of silver weed, twitch and mares 

 tail (Equisetum), as it is also of the pheasants. I have not seen 

 any pigeons on clover yet." 



* The Board would be glad to receive similar notes from other observers on the 

 habits of birds reputed to be beneficial or injurious to agriculture. 



