Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1880-06-02
A CITY OF WILD PIGEONS.
TWENTY SQUARE MILES OF THE BIRDS
NESTING IN FOREST COUNTY, PA.

In rOhESI OOON11,
The great pigeon nesting of Fores
county, Pa, covers twenty square
miles 1t is in jerks and Howe town
ships, near the source of streams thai
empty into the Allegheny River II
is sixteen miles south of Sheffield
twenty miles west of Kane, and hun
dred miles south of Buffalo in direct
line. The country is almost an unbro.
ken wilderness. Not more than ten
persons live within the boundaries oi
the nesting There are roads, but they
are as rough as Tammany politicians
and surpass them in bruising power
They were made by wood-choppers
and bark-peelers. Roots and stones
mount skyward, and ruts and mud
holes sink deep toward the bottomless
pit. The country is neither rocky nor
mountainous 1t is billy slope, shad-
ed with beeches and hemlocks, and a
few cherry, birch and maple trees. The
beeches bear crop of nuts irregularly
and never two years in succession
The nut is triple-sided and triangular,
and grows within prickly burr, much
smaller than chestnut burr Each
burr contains two nuts The first frost
cracks the burrs, and the nuts drop to
the ground. Under covering of snow
they retain their sweetness until spring.
These nuts attract the pigeons. The
condition of the crop is studied by
small scouting parties in the fall, and
in some manner is told to the main ar
my, who advance with the approach
of spring. This year the advance guard
in the latter part of February.
They roasted at the head of Minister
and Porky Greeks, tributaries of the
Tionesta. A light snow fell soon after
their arrival, but did not prevent them
from securing an ample supply of nuts.
They swept downward in groups of
thousands and whipped the snow from
the ground with their wings. The con-
tinuous Tapping sounded like the roar
of a cataract.
Myriads of birds poured into the
roost daily for the next fortnight. They
came in sheets that stretched from hor-
izon, and at times obscured the light of
the sun. At night over five square
miles of trees were loaded with roost-
ing birds. The noise was deafening.
At times huge branches, broken by the
weight of birds, crashed to the ground,
throwing the vast camp into dire con-
fusion. The unfortunate pigeons fut-
tered to and fro in the darkness, utter
ing plaintive cries, which were answer
ed by their more fortunate companions
in the trees. A heavy fall of snow or
a gale after dark breaks many over
weighted limbs and spreads dismay
among the flock The fallen birds
skulk to cover and await the break of
day, filling the darkness with their
cries of terror. Farmers and others
visited the roost after night-fall, and,
by the light of a blazing fire, dubbed
hundreds of birds from the lower
branches of the trees with long poles.
While sojourning at the roost the
birds mate. The tom pigeon COOS in
cessantly, swelling his chest and ruf-
fling the feathers at his neck. The
mating lasts three or four days. A
thousand millions of birds or more are
The forest resounds with
love-making. Frequently toms court
the same hen, and battle royal en-
sues. Eyes flash fire, beaks are crossed
like rapiers, and the combatants use
their wings as Irishmen use shillelahs
at a country fair. The hens stand by,
coy and modest, and give themselves
to the victor without reserve. Once
mated, the pair is model of constancy.
The tom is all attention and the hen
all affection. He brings her the choic-
est delicacies and she rewards him with
kisses. Woe betide the feathered roue
who tries to loosen the domestic bond.
married pigeons make
common cause against him, and club
him from the camp in disgrace. The
pair, however, are not mated for life.
A nesting breaks the contract, and ever
after that they treat each other like
strangers. No tom was ever known
to fight twice for the same hen. Ifa
hen loses her mate she remains wild
ow until the next year.
Nesting begins soon after mating.
The birds never nest at roost. This
year the first corps nested fortnight
after their arrival The nests are
mostly made in leafess hard wood
trees, about twenty miles from the
roost. The tom gathers the twigs
and the hen interlaces them. No ar
tistic skill is displayed. The twigs
are woven without regularity, and the
structure resembles an eagles nest on
a small scale. The interior is thatched
with moss gathered from the bark of
hemlock trees. The tom finds the
moss and the hen does the thatching.
1t takes three days to build nest.
When everything is ready for house
keeping the hen lays an egg, and rarely
more than one. During incubation
the tom alternates in household duty.
There are from ten to thirty nests in a
tree Each family strictly attends to
it's own business. The tom feeds his
own wife and no other. The hen re-
mains at home and does not CAD about
among her neighbors The golden
rule, however, is not recognized. If a
hen loses her husband she receives no
sympathy. No one offers to assist her
in raising her squad, and while she is
in search of food to keep it alive it
may perish from exposure under the
eyes of scores of unconcerned fathers
and mothers.
The egg matches within thirteen
days, and the nest is never deserted
until the squad is grown. The parents
take turns in procuring food. The
tom usually shelters the SQUAD from
8 A. NJ. to P. NJ, and the hen does
the same during the intervening time.
At night the tom roosts near her. In
cold weather the squads are fed three
times a day. If the days are warm
they are allowed one or two lunches