Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-11-28

What bird is 30 queer and strange SO
full OF contradictions as the American
dove! In about half Of the states OF the
Union this member of the feathered host
Is not regarded as a game bird and It IS
protected all the year round. This Is
particularly true in those non-grain-rais-
ing sections where 1t is scarce. In all
probability the mournful. plaintive cooling
of the dove counts a good deal In secur-
ing immunity from the gun and the
breakfast table. But the cooling dove Of
the spring and summer is a different
bird from the dove Of the harvest time
and the fall and winter seasons. The mat
ing season is gone. the young have been
| reared. the birds are nocking in great
droves in search of food, and then 1t is
that the sportsman of the grain country
learns to know the real dove.
The flight of the passenger pigeon is
traditional for its unerring speed and
swiftness. Its speed has been estimated
at as high as eighty and ninety miles an
hour. A close relative Of the passenger
pigeon is the dove. and it is doubtful II
the passenger pigeon, the blue wing teal.
the jack shipe or the quail, have anything
on an old dove, last years one, wise and
field under full head of steam. Then.
like the flight Of the teal and the black
jack, 1t is a case Of here he comes;
yonder he goes"
In grafn-growing sections, especially in
the south, the dove furnishes on the land
the sport that Is
Nearest Akin nearest akin to
to Duck Shooting. shooting on
American lakes, streams, bays and ponds.
The sport begins soon after the yellow
grain has been cut and shocked. Watch
where the doves are hocking and 1t Is
easy to tell which farmer had the best
stand of grain in section, for the birds
will be there. The general rules that
obtain as to duck shooting in a large
measure are applicable to dove hunting.
In each case the genuine sport is best
obtained by shooting from blind. and in
each case it takes number of guns in
action to keep the quarry moving.
1t is said that the wild duck the eagle
and the wild turkey of all game birds
have the sharpest eyes, yet it is a de-
batable question If any of them have
keener vision than the dove. In fact, the
keenness of the doves vision increases
in proportion as the bird has seen man.
kind afield and heard the crack OF the
smokeless shell. This accounts for the
fact that it is useless totry and kill
doves where they have been much shot
at, without making blind.
In wild fowl shooting blinds are made
OF saw grass. bear grass, reeds, rushes,
willows, or whatever underground is
found along the banks Of the pond or
lake or bay. A blind must be cleverly
made. so as to look natural, and the
sportsman must get in it and keep still
until he gets ready to shoot. Just so with
the blind in which one gets to bag the
swift-fying dove. AS an initial propo-
sition the hunter must be clad In a suit
of khaki, for its brown mingles with the
gold Of the grain and the straw, with
green or dead weeds or any other back
ground Of the fields. A large shock Of
grain Is a handy object If the hunter
will only keep STILL for the slightest
movement is detected by the sharp eyes
Of the oncoming dove and Immediately
the bird changes it's course and passes
out of range Of a load Of TX chilled shot.
II .the grain has been gathered. but
there Is plenty Of seed on the ground and
the birds are
Glnyun nj WeadC still foodip0 a