BREEDING COLONIES. 
368 
of several English miles, and extending through the 
forest, somewhat over forty miles in length. Over the 
whole of this tract of country every tree was loaded 
with as many nests as the branches would support. As 
soon as the young were nearly full grown, and about to 
fly, all the inhabitants of the country side arrived in 
numerous parties, provided with waggons, guns, axes, 
tubs, and cooking gear, and, besides these, with beds 
and household furniture, many families establishing 
themselves for some days in the woods. I was told 
that the noise in the forest was so great as to terrify 
their horses ; and that you could only make your 
neighbour hear by bawling in his ear. The ground 
beneath the trees was covered with filth of every 
description, limbs of trees, broken eggs and young which 
had fallen from the nests. Troops of hogs feasted upon 
the flesh of these unlucky youngsters; Hawks, Buzzards 
and Eagles were to be seen soaring overhead in all 
directions, taking young birds from the nest without let 
or hindrance. From a height of twenty feet up to the 
very topmost branches of the trees, nothing could be seen 
bnt a confused mass of Pigeons, and the fluttering of 
their wings resembled the sound of distant thunder, to 
which was added the crashing of the trees themselves, 
for a number of woodmen were actively engaged in felling 
those most loaded with nests, which again brought down 
others with them in their fall. In this manner one tree 
often yielded close upon two hundred young Pigeons as 
large as the old birds, and loaded with fat. On a single 
tree there were sometimes upwards of one hundred nests, 
each of which, however, contained only one young one. 
It was dangerous to walk about amongst these millions 
of flying, fluttering, restless Pigeons, owing to the 
