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here in large numbers. Other species of Columba known in the United States are as follows: C. fasciata, sixteen inches long, purplish-gray, found in the Rocky Mountains; C. leucocephala, fourteen and a half inches long, slate-blue, head white, found in the Keys of Florida; C. zenaida— Zenaida amabilis of Bonaparte-a beautiful and gentle species, twelve and a half inches long, brownish-ash, found in Florida and the West Indies: C. flavirostris, found on the lower Rio Grande: Melopelia leucoptera; Scardafella squamosa: Oreopeleia Martinica and Starnænas cyanocephala, all found in the Southern Territories of the United States and the West Indies.

Genus ECTOPISTES: Ectopistes. This includes the COMMON WILD PIGEON of the United States often called the Passenger Pigeon-E. migratoria, sixteen to eighteen inches long, bluishgray above, breast reddish-brown: the food consists of beech-nuts, acorns, berries, rice, seeds, &c. It ranges throughout North America from 25° to 62° north. It builds a slight, flat nest of sticks, and lays two eggs. It is migratory, moving to the northwest in vast flocks in April and returning to the South in August and September. The migrations are variable as to time and numbers; latterly they have been less multitudinous than they were fifteen or twenty years ago. Audubon noticed a continuous flight for three days; the whole number of birds, according to this calculation, amounting to one billion one hundred and fourteen millions! As every pigeon consumes half a pint of food daily, the consumption of these each day would be eight millions seven hundred and twelve thousand bushels! Wilson gives the following graphic account: "The roostingplaces are always in the woods, and sometimes occupy a large extent of forest. When they have frequented one of those places for some time, the appearance it exhibits is surprising. The ground is covered to the depth of several inches with their dung; all the tender grass and underwood destroyed; the surface strewed with large limbs of trees, broken down by the weight of the birds collecting one above another; and the trees themselves, for thousands of acres, killed as completely as if girdled with an axe. The marks of their desolation remain for many years on the spot; and numerous places could be pointed out where, for several years after, scarcely a single vegetable made its appearance. When these roosts are first discovered, the inhabitants, from considerable distances, visit them in the night with guns, clubs, long poles, pots of sulphur, and various other engines of destruction. In a few hours they fill many sacks and load horses with them. By the Indians a pigeon-roost or breeding-place is considered an important source of national profit and dependence for that season, and all their active ingenuity is exercised on the occasion." "This breeding-place differs from the former in its greater extent. In the western countries, namely, the States of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, these are generally in back woods, and often extend in nearly a straight line across the country for a great way. Not far from Shelbyville, in the State of Kentucky, about five years ago, there was one of these breeding-places, which stretched through the woods in nearly a north and south direction, was several miles in breadth, and was said to be upward of forty miles in extent. In this tract almost every tree was furnished with nests wherever the branches could accommodate them. The pigeons made their first appearance there about the 10th of April, and left it altogether with their young before the 25th of May. As soon as the young were fully grown, and before they left the nests, numerous parties of the inhabitants from all parts of the adjacent country came with wagons, axes, beds, cooking utensils, many of them accompanied by the greater part of their families, and encamped for several days at this immense nursery. Several of them informed me that the noise was so great as to terrify their horses, and that it was difficult for one person to hear another speak without bawling in his ear. The ground was strewed with broken limbs of trees, eggs, and young squab pigeons, which had been precipitated from above, and on which herds of hogs were fattening. Hawks, buzzards, and eagles were sailing about in great numbers, and seizing the squabs from the nests at pleasure, while, from twenty feet upward to the tops of the trees, the view through the woods presented a perpetual tumult of crowding and fluttering multitudes of pigeons, their wings roaring like thunder, mingled with the frequent crash of falling timber; for now the axemen were at work, cutting down those trees that seemed to be most crowded with nests, and contrived to fell them in such a manner, that in their descent they might bring down several others; by which means the falling of one large tree sometimes produced two hundred squabs, little inferior in size to the old ones, and almost one heap of fat. On some single trees upward

of one hundred nests were found. It was dangerous to walk under these flying and fluttering millions, from the frequent fall of large branches, broken down by the weight of the multitudes. above, and which in their descent often destroyed numbers of the birds themselves; while the clothes of those engaged in traversing the woods were completely covered with the excrements of the pigeons."

On another occasion* the writer of these pages has treated of this subject as follows: "The

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story told by Wilson and Audubon as to the amazing quantity of pigeons in the West, was realized by us in Connecticut half a century ago. I have seen a stream of these noble birds, pouring at brief intervals through the skies, from the rising to the setting sun, and this in the county of Fairfield. I may here. add, that of all the pigeon tribe -this of our country-the passenger pigeon is the swiftest and most beautiful of a swift and beautiful generation. At the same time, it is unquestionably superior to any other for the table. All the other species of the eastern, as well as the

western continent, which I have

tasted are soft and flavorless in

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comparison.

"I can recollect no sports of my youth which equaled in excitement our pigeon hunts, generally taking place in September and October. We usually started on horseback before daylight, and made a rapid progress to some stubble-field on West Mountain. The ride in the keen, fresh air, especially as the dawn began to break, was delightful. The gradual encroachment of day upon the sight filled my mind with sublime images: the waking up of a world from sleep, the joyousness of birds and beasts in the return of morning, and my own sympathy in this cheerful and grateful homage of the heart to God, the giver of good-all contributed to render these adventures most impressive upon my young heart. My memory is still full of the sights and sounds of those glorious mornings; the silvery whistle of the wings of migrating flocks of ploverinvisible in the gray mists of dawn; the faint murmur of the distant mountain torrents; the sonorous gong of the long-trailing flocks of wild geese, seeming to come from the unseen depths of

WILD PIGEONS.

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* See "Recollections of a Lifetime," 1856. Vol. I., p. 99.

the skies—these were among the suggestive sounds that stole through the dim twilight. As morning advanced, the scene was inconceivably beautiful-the mountain sides, clothed in autumnal green and purple and gold, rendered more glowing by the sunrise, with the valleys covered with mists, and spreading out like waves of silver; while on every side, the ear was saluted by the mocking screams of the red-headed woodpecker, the cawing of congresses of crows, clamorous as if talking to Buncombe: and finally, the rushing sound of the pigeons, pouring like a tide over the tops of the trees.

"By this time, of course, our nets were ready, and our flyers and stool-birds on the alert. What moments of ecstasy were these, and, especially, when the head of the flock-some redbreasted old father or grandfather-caught the sight of our pigeons, and turning at the call, drew the whole train down into our net-bird! I have often seen a hundred or two hundred of these splendid birds come upon us with a noise absolutely deafening, and sweeping the air with a sudden gust like the breath of a thunder cloud. Sometimes our bush-hut, where we lay concealed, was covered all over with pigeons, and we dared not move a finger as their red, piercing eyes were upon us. When, at last, with a sudden pull of the rope, the net was sprung, and we went out to secure our booty—often fifty, and sometimes even a hundred birds—I felt a fullness of triumph which words are wholly inadequate to express."

It is a curious fact that several specimens of the passenger pigeon have been met with in England; from the extraordinary powers of flight this bird is known to possess, we may conclude that these migrated thither across the Atlantic.

The AMERICAN TURTLE-DOVE, E. Carolinensis, is eleven and a half inches long; above brownish-drab, breast pale veinous-olive; its flight is quick, vigorous, and accompanied by a peculiar whistling of the wings; it feeds on buckwheat, hemp-seed, Indian corn, and various kinds of berries; it devours large quantities of gravel; to obtain this it is often seen in the highways. It visits the North in spring, lays two white eggs in a rude nest of sticks, and spends the winter at the South, where it associates in considerable flocks; in New England it is generally seen in pairs. In form it greatly. resembles the passenger-pigeon; its flesh is much esteemed. Wilson says: "This is a favorite bird with all those who love to wander among our woods in spring, and listen to their varied harmony. They will there hear many a singular and sprightly performer, but none so mournful as this. The hopeless woe of settled sorrow, swelling the heart of female innocence itself, could not assume tones more sad, more tender and affecting. Its notes are four; the first is somewhat the highest, and preparatory, seeming to be uttered with an inspiration of the breath, as if the afflicted creature were just recovering its voice from the last convulsive sobs of distress; this is followed by three long, deep, and mournful moanings, that no person of sensibility can listen to without sympathy. A pause of a few minutes ensues, and again the solemn voice of sorrow is renewed as before. This is generally heard in the deepest shaded parts of the woods, frequently about noon and toward the evening. There is, however, nothing of real distress in all this; quite the reverse. The bird who utters it wantons by the side of his beloved partner, or invites her by his call to some favorite retired and shady retreat. It is the voice of love, of faithful connubial affection, for which the whole family of doves are so celebrated; and, among them all, none more deservingly so than the species now before us."

THE TRERONIDE OR TREE-PIGEONS.

These birds are confined to the warmer parts of the old continent, their principal locations being in India, the islands of the Eastern Archipelago, and Australia. Their nourishment consists, for the most part, of fruits, and they are especially arboreal in their habits. In the form of the bill, however, they present some resemblance to the extinct dodo. Many of them are most beautifully colored, rivaling in this respect the parrots and pheasants.

THE MENURAS OR LYRE-BIRDS.

These birds belong to Australia, of which two species are now known, the Menura superba, described more than fifty years ago by Davis, and a recently discovered species, described by Mr. Gould under the name of Menura Alberti. The COMMON LYRE-BIRD, Menura superba, has been

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arranged with very different groups by different authors, some placing it with the gallinaceous birds, its apparent relation to which is shown by the name Wood-Pheasant, sometimes given to it; others with the hornbills and the hoatzin among the conirostres; others in the neighborhood of the thrushes; others with the wrens; and others with the pigeons. It is nearly the size of the common fowl, but is rendered remarkable by the structure of the feathers of the tail in the male. These are very long, and of three kinds. Twelve of them are furnished with slender distant barbs, which give them an exceedingly light appearance; two others, placed in the middle of the tail, are furnished with short close barbs only on one side, while the most striking feature of all is formed by the two external quill-feathers, which are very broad, and curved into the form of an elongated S, so arranged as to present a close resemblance in outline to the lyre of the ancients.

The bird is supported upon long and tolerably strong legs, terminated by feet which, except for the absence of membranes at the base of the toes, might easily be mistaken for those of a gallinaceous bird; and the lyre-bird runs upon the ground with great facility, and, in fact, in many VOL. II.-30

of its habits bears no inconsiderable resemblance to many of the rasores. In other respects, however, it differs very widely from these. Its nest is a neat domed structure, composed of mosses, roots, and stems of plants; and when it is approached pretty closely, which, from its extreme shyness, is by no means an easy matter, it is found to possess a varied song. Both the species are found principally in the rocky gullies of New South Wales, where they run through the bush with such swiftness that, according to Mr. Gould, they are the most difficult to procure of all the birds of Australia. They fly but little, their wings being very short, and rounded.

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This order includes the numerous species of Gallinaceous Birds, or those which agree more or less in structure with our common fowl, and the name Rasores, or Scrapers, alludes to the habit of scratching in the ground in search of food, which is common with domestic poultry. They are generally marked by a small head, stout legs, the plumage firm, the males usually adorned with magnificent colors, and the tails often developed in a manner to render the appearance extremely elegant. The wings are usually short and weak, and the flight of the birds neither powerful nor prolonged. The stomach or gizzard is exceedingly muscular and strong, and lined with hard tendinous plates, by the action of which, assisted in most cases by stones, or other hard substances which the birds swallow, the comminution of the food is effected. The intestine is long, and furnished with very large cœca; the latter organs, in fact, are larger in these than in any other birds. The species are found in all parts of the world, from the tropics to the frozen regions of the north; but the finest and most typical kinds are inhabitants of the temperate and warmer parts of Asia. They feed principally on seeds, fruits, and herbage, but also, to a considerable extent, on insects, worms, and other small animals. Their general habitation is on the ground, where they run with great celerity, but many of them roost on trees. They are mostly polygamous in their habits, the males being usually surrounded by a considerable troop of females; and to these, with few a exceptions, the whole business of incubation is generally left. The nest is always placed on the ground in some sheltered situation, and very little art is exhibited in its construction; indeed, an elaborate nest is the less necessary, as the young are able to run about and feed almost as soon as they have left the egg; and at night, or on the approach of danger, they collect beneath the wings of their mother. Most of these species-including Grouse, Partridges, Quails, Turkeys, Pheasants, the Common Fowls, Peacocks, Mound Birds, Curassows, &c.—are esteemed for the table, and many of them are among the most celebrated of game birds.

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