278 A DESCRIPTION OP 
them in myriads, frequently extending above a mile in 
length, as they went out in the morning to feed. They 
are, however, still found in considerable quantities in many 
parts of England, but never in Scotland, forming their 
nests in the hollows of trees ; but never, like the ring- 
dove, on boughs. Their murmuring strains, or cooings, 
in the morning and at dusk, are highly pleasing, and throw 
an agreeable melancholy on the solitude of the grove. 
The Poet of the Seasons expresses this in the following 
lines, with a beautiful instance of imitative harmony. 
the Stockdove breathes 
A melancholy murmur through the whole, 
SPRING. 
Wordsworth also gives a pleasing description of the 
mournful cooing of these birds : 
I heard a Stockdove sing or say 
His homely tale this very day; 
His voice was buried among trees, 
Yet to be come at by the breeze ; 
He did not cease ; but cooed, and cooed ; 
And somewhat pensively he wooed ; 
He sang of love with quiet blending, 
Slow to begin, and never ending ; 
Of serious faith and inward glee, 
That was the song, the song for me. 
