THE PASSENGER PIGEON. 
31 
of nature. At this period the note of the Pigeon is a soft coo-coo-coo-coo, 
much shorter than that of the domestic species. The common notes resem- 
ble the monosyllables kee-kee-kee-Icee, the first being the loudest, the others 
gradually diminishing in power. The male assumes a pompous demeanour, 
and follows the female, whether on the ground or on the branches, with 
spread tail and drooping wings, which it rubs against the part over which it 
is moving. The body is elevated, the throat swells, the eyes sparkle. He 
continues his notes, and now and then rises on the wing, and flies a few 
yards to approach the fugitive and timorous female. Like the domestic 
Pigeon and other species, they caress each other by billing, in which action, 
the bill of the one is introduced transversely into that of the other, and both 
parties alternately disgorge the contents of their crop by repeated efforts. 
These preliminary affairs are soon settled, and the pigeons commence their 
nests in general peace and harmony. They are composed of a few dry 
twigs, crossing each other, and are supported by forks of the branches. On 
the same tree from fifty to a hundred nests may frequently be seen : — I 
might say a much greater number, were I not anxious, kind reader, that 
however wonderful my account of the Wild Pigeon is, you may not feel 
disposed to refer it to the marvellous. The eggs are two in number, of a 
broadly elliptical form, and pure white. During incubation, the male sup- 
plies the female with food. Indeed, the tenderness and affection displayed 
by these birds towards their mates, are in the highest degree striking. It is 
a remarkable fact, that each brood generally consists of a male and a female. 
Here again, the tyrant of the creation, man, interferes, disturbing the 
harmony of this peaceful scene. As the young birds grow up, their 
enemies, armed with axes, reach the spot, to seize and destroy all they can. 
The trees are felled, and made to fall in such a way that the cutting of 
one causes the overthrow of another, or shakes the neighbouring trees so 
much, that the young Pigeons, or squabs , as they are named, are violently 
hurried to the ground. In this manner also, immense quantities are de- 
stroyed. 
The young are fed by the parents in the manner described above ; in 
other words, the old bird introduces its bill into the mouth of the young one 
in a transverse manner, or with the back of each mandible opposite the 
separations of the mandibles of the young bird, and disgorges the contents 
of its crop. As soon as the young birds are able to shift for themselves, 
they leave their parents, and continue separate until they attain maturity. 
By the end of six months they are capable of reproducing their species. 
The flesh of the Wild Pigeon is of a dark colour, but affords tolerable 
eating. That of young birds from the nest is much esteemed. The skin is 
covered with small white filmy scales. The feathers fall off at the least 
