\ 
WILD PIGEONS. 43 
unlike the common English wood pigeon/, 
except that they are of a much smaller si zj ; 
their flesh is very well flavoured. Buti/g 
particular years, these birds come down mm 
the northern regions in flights that it is War- 
vellous to tell of. A gentleman of the tOttfn 
of Niagara assured me, that once as hy was 
embarking; there on board ship for Torai/to, a 
flight of them.Was observed coming frojh that 
quarter ; that as he sailed over Lake Ontario 
to Toronto forty miles distant from Niagara, 
pigeons were seen flying over head the whole 
way in a contrary direction to that in which 
the ship proceeded ; and that on Arriving, at 
the place of his destination, the birds were still 
observed corning down from tiny north in as 
large bodies as had been noticed at any one 
time during the whole voyage; .supposing 
therefore, that the pigeons moved no faster than 
the vessel, the flight, according to this gentle¬ 
man’s account, must at least have extended 
eighty miles. Many persons may think this 
story surpassing belief; for my own part, how¬ 
ever, I do not hesitate to give credit to it, 
knowing, as I do, the respectability of the 
gentleman who related it, and the accuracy of 
his observation. When these birds appear in 
■such great numbers, they often light on the 
borders of rivers and lakes, and in the neigh¬ 
bourhood of farm houses, at which time they 
