STOCK DOVE.
This Dove, the Columba ænas of naturalists, is very often confused with the preceding species, from which, however, it may readily be distinguished by having the rump uniform in colour with the back, and the wing bars broken up into patches. Mistaken identity is also rendered even more easy by the bird frequenting the coast, in just the same localities we associate with the Rock Dove. As most readers are aware, the Stock Dove is a dweller in wooded inland districts, as well as on the coast. I have, however, often remarked that the two species rarely inhabit the same parts of the coast, and that the Stock Dove shows preference for cliffs that are more or less densely clothed with ivy, stunted trees, and thickets. In its flight, shyness, method of searching for food, and habits generally, when frequenting littoral districts, the Stock Dove very closely resembles the Rock Dove. The note of the Stock Dove, heard most incessantly during spring and summer is, however, different, and may be described as a grunting coo-oo-up. At all times this Dove is socially inclined, and becomes, to a great extent, gregarious during winter; its numbers being increased during that season by migrants from Scandinavia. Its food is chiefly obtained from grain lands, clover fields, and stubbles, and consists chiefly of grain and seeds, berries, and various shoots.
The breeding season of the Stock Dove begins in April, and extends over the entire summer into the succeeding autumn. When resorting to maritime cliffs, the nest is often placed amongst ivy, in a rabbit burrow, or in a crevice of the cliffs, and is a mere platform of twigs, roots, or straws. In many cases a nest is dispensed with altogether. The two eggs are creamy-white, smooth, and polished. In inland localities a hole in a tree, or the deserted drey of a squirrel, or old nest of a Crow or Magpie, is usually selected. Several broods are reared in the season. This Dove is one of those species that is rapidly extending its area of distribution in our islands; the trend of its advance, however, being always northerly. Outside our limits the Stock Dove is found over most parts of Europe and North-West Africa, eastwards to the Caucasus and Asia Minor.