PIGEONS. 
195 
been arranged, in their habits. They are strictly monoga- 
mous ; the male assisting the female in the formation of the 
nest, and taking his turn in the process of incubation, as- 
sisting to feed the young, which, when hatched, are blind 
and naked, and are fed by the parents till they are feathered, 
and even for some time after. Their nests are built in trees 
or among rocks ; and the female lays only two eggs at a 
time, though she breeds frequently. The forms and mo- 
tions of the various members of the Pigeon family are parti- 
cularly elegant, and the colours are always soft and pleasing 
to the eye ; in manners they are very gentle, and their ex- 
pression answers to their disposition. The gentleness and 
connubial attachment of the Turtle Dove are proverbial; but 
these mild and engaging manners are not peculiar to that 
emblem of softness, but are common to the whole order. 
One of the most remarkable of the Pigeon family is the 
Migratory or Passenger Pigeon of North America [Ectojpistes 
migratorius) , whose numbers almost exceed belief. Audu- 
bon, in 1813, witnessed a migration of this species, on the 
banks of the Ohio, which continued for three days ; allowing 
two pigeons to occupy a square yard of space, he calculated 
that a flock contained one billion one hundred and fifteen 
millions one hundred and thirty-six thousand pigeons ; and 
