York, and the late Earl of Derby, at Knowsley, were success-
ful in inducing this species to breed in confinement.
When reared from the nest, the birds frequently become
much attached to their owner, and even when given their
liberty they havé been known to sweep down and recognize
him with demonstrations of pleasure after an absence, of
nearly, twelve months, although always shy to strangers.
Up to six years ago, a pair used to breed in the Green Park,
and a few still do so in Kensington Gardens; but the tameness
of this species, under certain conditions; can nowhere be
witnessed better than in Paris, where, im the gardens of the
Luxembourg, the Tuileries, the Parc Monceau, andather
public promenades, the Ring Doves may be seen'taking food
from, .and *aven- perching upon the arms and shoulders '•of
those who habitually feed them.
The Ring Dove .us strictly monogamous, and during the
breeding season is generally seen in pairs: or singly, when
faking turns at the task of incubation. In the~autumn', fftewfe
ever, it becomes gregarious, and in winter the flocks sometimes
consist of many hundreds, and even thousands. During tho
summer these birds feed on* green corn,.young Clover .(the
leaves .of which they devour%y. the bushel)vgrain of all sorts,
peas, &c. Mr. R .'Gray has shot numbers with .their crops
perfectly distended with gooseberries-;' and from.: thererop*of
One killed in; Forfarshire 1,020 grains of corn wsere^counted.
The crops of four of these birds sent by Lord Haddington
at different times yielded the following results: the;*first
contained 144 field, peas and „seven large beansffcthe sécond
281 beech nuts ; the third 818 grains of barley; and the
fourth 874. grains of oats, and fiftyi-five of b a rley ^ Such
damage maybe better.estimated from-thé fact that the bird
is known torfoeife three times~daily-; and in a :.grain*pro-
dncirig district,' like. East Lothian, where from 15,000 to
29,000 Pigeons have been-destroyed.with.in. tweLve^mon-ths;
without, effecting any apparent decrease kn their numbers, the
less to agriculturists must be-enormous. It appears doubtful
whether the bill of the Wood Pigeqn’^-strong enqugh to
break into the bulbs of turnips, but when that;, work byas
been commenced by Rooks, Partridges or hares, the Pigeons
continue to hollow them out very successfully; whilst there
can be no doubt that they eat the leaves, and thus check the
growth of the turnip in its earlier stages.* They are fond
of bathing in and drinking fresh waterj and Mr. Oordeaux
states that in summer, but at no other time, this species
resorts daily to the marsh drains of the Humber district
to which the tide has access for the purpose of drinking the
brackish water; Mr. H. Blake-Knox has also observed it
eating sea-wefed en thereeks left«haie; by ;the eife It |i;:
partial to the seeds of the% common buttercup (Ranunculus
acris), as well, as the berries?of the holly and the yew; and
when it resorts to the stubbles after harvest to consume the
scattered grain, it also devours an immense number of the
seeds of various weeds, thereby rendering services t e l the
farmer which in some measure ^counterbalance the depredations
of the rest of the year.
In England it has long been known as an abundant
and generally, distributed species, whose numbers, have
shewn a decided tendency-to increase^ but* in' Scotland the
spread of high cultivation has assisted* its-' progress in a
remarkable manner. In East .Lothian, where less- than a
century ago the species was; .quite unknown, th e ’records
of the Agricultural Society; of that, district shew that no
less than 130,440 birds were destroyed between 1863-1870
without materially affecting its numbers. The eastern districts
of Scotland frequently suffer "from- the arrival of immense'flocks
from the. continent, a large proportion taking
up their abode in the country, bilt on iffe*'western- side
although on the increase it.ffkless^numerous, and although
ranging up to Sutherlandshire, it is merely a straggler, to the
westward of the Inner Hebrides;- Even to the Orkneys and
the storm-swept, treeless -Shetlands,- its visits--*ar.a becoming
more frequent, and it has wandered several times as far as
the still bleaker Faeroes. In Ireland itds generally distributed
and on the-increase, i On the-continent of Europe‘it
ranges in summer throughout suitable districts up' to. about
- „JfeiR, GrsfcyP 0p.-*cit.