The nest of the Rock Dove is a mere heap of straw, dry grass, and twigs, with a slight hollow in its centre for the reception of the eggs, which have a glossy, pure white shell. The female alone builds, but is supplied with materials by her devoted mate, who remains constantly near her both day and night. The blind and unusually helpless young are hatched about sixteen or eighteen days after the eggs are laid, and leave the shell within from twenty-four to thirty-six hours of each other. As with their congeners, the nestlings are at first nourished with pulp from the crops of their parents, then with partially digested seeds, and when fledged, with hard seeds, with the addition of tiny pebbles and bits of clay, to assist the still weak gizzard in the work of trituration. When about a month old the young are strong enough to quit the nest in company with their parents, who, however, soon leave them to their own devices, and at once commence their preparations for a second brood.
"The Blue Pigeon, or Rock Dove of India" says Jerdon, "differs from that of Europe only in having an ash-coloured instead of pure white rump. It is one of the most common and abundant birds, congregating throughout the country in large flocks, and breeding wherever they can find suitable spots. They are most partial to large buildings, such as churches, pagodas, mosques, tombs, and the like, frequently entering verandahs of inhabited houses and building in the cornices. Hollows in walls of cities or towns are favourite places, and in some parts of the country they prefer holes in wells. In default of such spots they will breed in crevices and cavities of rocks, caverns, and sea-side cliffs, and are particularly partial to rocky waterfalls. The celebrated falls of Gaissoppa are tenanted by thousands of Blue Pigeons. These Pigeons are held in respect by most Hindoos, and almost venerated by some, insomuch that if a pair build in the house of a native he considers it a favourable omen."
The CUCKOO PIGEONS (Macropygiæ) constitute a group distinguishable by the slender formation of their bodies, their small heads, long tails, and short wings and feet. These birds are all eminently social in their habits, and frequently keep together in large flocks. All subsist principally upon fruit and seeds, and, in order to obtain these, constantly occupy woods and forests, from whence they occasionally venture forth to seek for food in well-planted gardens and orchards.
THE PASSENGER PIGEON (Ectopistes migratorius).
THE PASSENGER PIGEON, OR CAROLINA TURTLE-DOVE.
The CAROLINA TURTLE-DOVE, or PASSENGER PIGEON (Ectopistes migratorius), a large and well-known member of the above group, inhabiting North America, is very powerfully built, and has a long neck and small head. The medium-sized beak is slenderly formed, and the wing, in which the second quill exceeds the rest in length, long and pointed; the tail is long and graduated, the tarsus strong, but shorter than the centre toe without its claw. The plumage of the mantle is slate-blue and the under side reddish grey; the sides of the throat gleam with violet; the belly and vent are white, the wings black, edged with white; the centre tail-feathers are black, those at the side light grey, marked with greyish brown and black spots at the base of the inner web. The eye is of a brilliant red, the beak black, and the foot crimson. The female is smaller than her mate, with duller plumage, in which greyish brown predominates; her back and rump are whitish grey, and the centre tail-feathers reddish brown. The length of the male is sixteen inches and a quarter, and his breadth twenty-five inches; the wing measures seven inches and two-thirds, and the tail eight inches and one-sixth. In the female, the length is only fifteen and the breadth twenty-three inches. The Carolina Pigeons inhabit the United States during the summer season, from Canada to Florida, and from the sea-coast to the west of the Mississippi. In the Northern and Middle States they are partially migratory. In North and South Carolina they assemble in flocks during the winter, sometimes of many hundred individuals, but in the spring they return northward, and most frequently fly in pairs, more than three or four being rarely seen together. Their flight is rapid, and generally accompanied by a whistling sound. They frequently circle about, but seldom mount above the trees, visiting the fields for the grain they may be able to glean, and live principally on seeds, acorns, and berries; they are also fond of hempseed and Indian corn. In the winter, when food is scarce, they visit the farmyards, and feed in company with other guests.
The nest is but slightly formed of a few twigs, and lined with dry root-fibres. The eggs, two in number, are snow-white. The young are fed by both parents. More than two broods are seldom produced in the year, sometimes there is only one, but this appears to depend upon the time of laying, which in some parts of the United States begins as early as March, in others not until the middle of May, and on the borders of Lake Superior still later in the year. The usual roosting-places of these birds are among long grass in deserted fields, or dried stalks of corn, amid the stubble, or among the withered foliage of trees. They will return to favourite roosting-grounds from a considerable distance; but though a whole flock often settles in one locality, they seldom roost very near to each other, and if any one approach, even in the darkest night, will at once rise and take flight. The note of the Carolina Turtle Dove is low, plaintive, and repeated at intervals; in the early spring it may be heard among the newly-budding trees of the forest, even at a considerable distance.
"The Passenger Pigeon," writes Audubon, "or, as it is usually named in America, the Wild Pigeon, moves with extreme rapidity, propelling itself by quickly repeated flaps of the wings, which it brings more or less near the body, according to the degree of velocity which is required. Like the Domestic Pigeon, it often flies during the love season in a circling manner, supporting itself with both wings angularly elevated, in which position it keeps them until it is about to alight. Now and then, during these circular flights, the tips of the primary quills of each wing are made to strike against each other, producing a smart rap, which may be heard at a distance of thirty or forty yards. Before alighting, the Wild Pigeon, like the Carolina Parrot and a few other species of birds, breaks the force of its flight by repeated flappings, as if apprehensive of receiving injury from coming too suddenly in contact with the branch or spot of ground on which it intends to settle. I have commenced my description of this species with the above account of its flight because the most important facts connected with its habits relate to its migrations. These are entirely owing to the necessity of procuring food, and are not performed with a view of escaping the severity of a northern latitude, or of seeking a southern one for the purpose of breeding. They, consequently, do not take place at any fixed period or season of the year; indeed, it sometimes happens that a continuance of a sufficient supply of food in one district will keep these birds absent from another for years. I know that in Kentucky they remained for several years constantly, and were nowhere else to be found. They all suddenly disappeared, when the mast was exhausted, and did not return for a long period.