Evening star., 1948-11-12
This and That
By Charles Z. TraceueI
ARLINGTON, Va.


Il would like to know whether you sub
scribe to the phrase, often seen in print about
the gentle dove"
We have had number OF these in our
yard recently, and as far as can see they are
not in the least gentle
There Is one old bull dove that chases even
squirrels away from our bird feeding station,
and he does the same to jays
II have seen him fight starlings and cause
them to fly away as fast as they can go.
I got pretty close to him, and a meaner
face I never saw. He has a positively silly
look on his puss.
why should any one speak of the dove as
gentle?
Yours. M. x. D."
Gentle dove" is sort of modern convention,
based on the old European dove
Our turtle dove is bird of another color.
He is fighter far from gentle, yet rather
good citizen of the bird world after all.
Perhaps the phrase Is in relation to the
usual contrast with really mean birds.
The dove minds his own business very well,
but stands for no foolishness.
He means to get his fill of food although
not as greedy as the pigeon, his cousin.
The turtle dove, or Carolina dove, as he is
often called, is still classed as a game bird.
He knows the good thing he has run into
when he drops down in suburban community
where feeding is carried on
sort OF bird second sense tells him that
he will not be shot as long as he remains
here. And so he appears every day.
Sometimes in our correspondents community
flocks of as many as 40 birds appear.
They should be welcomed, for they are much
nicer to have around than pigeons, and offe.
more to the observer.
There are two good reasons for feeding
the BIRDS one, that it helps them, and so
helps agriculture, and two, 1t amuses the
person who foots the bill
The dove offers much entertainment. It Is
a graceful creature, especially in flight, or as
it glides through the lawn, reminding one Of
an old-time Civil War vessel, such as the
Merrimac or Monitor.
The dove is an odd one, no doubt of that.
The silly head, of which our correspondent
speaks, is all Of that, but actually 1t does very
well for the bird, fitting in perfectly with the
rest of him. Although his movements are
graceful, he is SO Solidly built that he seems
slightly clumsy, too.
Such creature should not be expected to
be of classic appearance. But If viewed care
fully especially close up, it will be seen to have
a head rather in keeping with the rest Of
him.
than one. 1t makes peculiar whistling noise
when it begins to fly and is more or less
pigeonlike in its habits
Pigeons and doves belong to the same family
They are known the world around Few other
species have SO much relationship to the
human family, or are so widely mentioned in
literature.
The dove, gentle or otherwise, is quite a
bird, from whatever viewpoint one regards
him. He is capable, energetic, able to stand
the cold winters, and gives the watcher the
only chance he has any more Of really un-
derstanding what an extinct passenger pigeon
looked like. Even as late as is years ago
persons were always calling newspapers and
telling them that they had seen passenger
pigeon, when in reality what they had seen was
q turtle dove.
Poised on broken branch in the snow, the
soft colors of the dove, pink at the throat
gray and dark brown, take on tints so close
to those of the great extinct birds, as we see
them in the best color prints, that the re-
semblance is startling.
This should give the doves additional stand
ing with all friends of bird life. And in the
summer, when their soft coo, melancholy
though 1t is to some, floats around the home
community, they seem to be the very essence
of happy home life. Gentle or not, they are
mighty fine birds.