232 
VERTEBRATA. 
the skies — these were among the suggestive sounds that stole through the dim twilight. As morn- 
ing advanced, the scene was inconceivably beautiful — the mountain sides, clothed in autumnal 
green and purple and gold, rendered more glowing by the sunrise, with the valleys covered with 
mists, and spreading out like waves of silver ; Avhile on every side, the ear was saluted by the 
mocking screams of the red-headed woodpecker, the cawing of congresses of crows, clamorous as 
if talking to Buncombe : and finally, the rushing sound of the pigeons, pouring like a tide over 
the tops of the trees. 
"By this time, of course, our nets were ready, and our flyers and stool-birds on the alert. 
What moments of ecstasy were these, and, especially, when the head of the flock — some red- 
breasted old father or grandfather — caught the sight of our pigeons, and turning at the call, drew 
the whole train down into our net-bird! I have often seen a hundred or two hundred of these 
splendid birds come upon us with a noise absolutely deafening, and sweeping the air with a sud- 
den gust like the breath of a thunder cloud. Sometimes our bush-hut, where we lay concealed, 
was covered all over with pigeons, and we dared not move a finger as their red, piercing eyes were 
upon us. When, at last, with a sudden pull of the rope, the net was sprang, and we went out to 
secure our booty — often fifty, and sometimes even a hundred birds — I felt a fullness of triumph 
which words are wholly inadequate to express." 
It is a curious fact that several specimens of the passenger pigeon have been met with in Eng- 
land ; from the extraordinaiy powers of flight this bird is known to possess, we may conclude 
that these migrated thither across the Atlantic. 
The American Turtle-Dove, E. Carol inensis, is eleven and a half inches long; above brown- 
ish-drab, breast pale veinous-olive ; its flight is quick, vigorous, and accompanied by a peculiar 
whistling of the Avings ; it feeds on buckwheat, hemp-seed, Indian corn, and various kinds of ber- 
ries ; it devours large quantities of gravel ; to obtain this it is often seen in the highways. It 
visits the North in spring, lays two white eggs in a rude nest of sticks, and spends the winter at 
the South, where it associates in considerable flocks ; in New England it is generally seen in 
pairs. In form it greatly resembles the passenger-pigeon ; its flesh is much esteemed. Wilson 
says : "This is a favorite bird with all those Avho love to wander among our woods in spring, and 
listen to their varied harmony. They Avill there hear many a singular and sprightly performer, 
but none so mournful as this. The hopeless woe of settled sorrow, swelling the heart of female 
innocence itself, could net assume tones more sad, more tender and affecting. Its notes are four ; 
the first is somcAvhat the highest, and preparatory, seeming to be uttered with an inspiration of 
the breath, as if the afflicted creature were just recovering its voice from the last convulsive sobs 
of distress ; this is folloAved by three long, deep, and mournful meanings, that no person of sensi- 
bility can listen to without sympathy. A pause of a few minutes ensues, and again the solemn 
voice of sorrow is rencAved as before. This is generally heard in the deepest shaded parts of the 
woods, frequently about noon and toward the evening. There is, hoAvever, nothing of real dis- 
tress in all this ; quite the reverse. The bird Avho utters it wantons by the side of his beloved 
partner, or invites her by his call to some favorite retired and shady retreat. It is the voice of 
love, of faithful connubial affection, for which the AAdiole family of doves are so celebrated ; and, 
among them all, none more deservingly so than the species now before us." 
THE TRERONIDiE OR TREE-PIGEONS. 
These birds are confined to the warmer parts of the old continent, their principal locations 
being in India, the islands of the Eastern Archipelago, and Australia. Their nourishment con- 
sists, for the most part, of fruits, and they are especially arboreal in their habits. In the form of 
the bill, however, they present some resemblance to the extinct dodo. Many b'f them are most 
beautifully colored, rivaling in this respect the parrots and pheasants. 
THE MENURAS OR LYRE-BIRDS. 
These birds belong to Australia, of which tAVO species are now known, the Menura superba, de- 
scribed more than fifty years ago by Davis, and a recently discovered species, described by Mr. 
Gould under the name of Menura Albe7'ti. The Common Lyre -Bird, Menura superha, has been 
