THE RINGDOVE . 
339 
season, we can see the wisdom of Providence very manifestly 
in the ardency of his passions.’ 
The nest which the bird defends with such skill and courage 
is very well concealed in a dense thicket, and the bird is always 
best pleased if it can find a bramble-bush thick in foliage and 
with a vine or a cedar, and in any case it is seldom more than 
four or five feet from the ground. The outer wall is made of 
leaves, within which is a layer formed of the thin bark of the 
grape-vine, and the line is formed of dried grasses and fibrous 
I roots of plants. 
Of our four British pigeons, two are branch-builders. The 
( Stockdove places its nest in holes in trees, in holes in the ground, 
or on the tops of pollard oaks, willows, and similarly crippled 
trees. The Rockaove makes its rude nest in the crevices of 
I the rocks which it frequents. But the Ringdove and the Turtle- 
dove are true branch-builders, and are therefore noticed in 
this place. 
We will first take the Ringdove ( Columba palumbus ), some- 
times called the Wood-pigeon, the Woodquest or queest, and 
the Cushat. 
i The nest of the Ringdove is placed in a variety of localities, 
for the bird is not in the least particular in this respect. Some- 
times it is situated near the top of a lofty tree, and sometimes 
it is found in a hedge only a few feet from the ground. I have 
seen nests in both localities. 
Mr. Waterton mentions a curious circumstance connected 
with this bird. In a spruce fir-tree there was the nest of a 
magpie, containing seven eggs, which were removed and those 
of the jackdaw substituted. Below this nest a Ringdove had 
chosen to fix her abode, and so the curious fact was seen, that 
on the same tree, in close proximity to each other, were mag- 
pies, jackdaws, and Ringdoves, and all living in perfect amity. 
It might have been supposed that the magpies and jackdaws 
would have robbed the nest of the Ringdove, but such was not 
the case. Moreover, the bird knew instinctively that she would 
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