s on the fact, the Wood Pigeons do not breed in
very great numbers. I may mention the trees in the New Ground, Candie
Garden, the Vallon and Woodlands, as places where Wood Pigeons
occasionally breed. No doubt the number of Wood Pigeons is occasionally
increased by migratory, or rather perhaps wandering, flocks, as Mr.
Couch, in a note to the 'Zoologist,' dated October the 21st, 1871, says,
"On Tuesday a great number of Wood Pigeons rested and several were
shot." Mr. MacCulloch also writes me, "The Wood Pigeon occasionally
arrives in large numbers. A few years ago I heard great complaints of
the damage they were doing to the peas;"[15] but luckily for the farmers
these wandering flocks do not stay long, or there would be but little
peas, beans, or grain left in the Islands; and the Wood Pigeons would be
more destructive to the crops in Guernsey than in England, as there are
not many acorns or Beech masts on which they could feed; consequently
they would live almost entirely on the farmer; and to show the damage
they would be capable of doing in this case, I may say that in the crops
of two that I examined some time ago--not killed in Guernsey however--I
found, in the first, thirty seven beech-masts in the crop, and eight
others in the gizzard, sufficiently whole to be counted; and in the
crop of the other the astonishing number of seventy-seven beech-masts
and one large acorn; the gizzard of this one I did not examine. I only
mention this to show the damage a few Wood Pigeons would do supposing
they were restricted almost entirely to agricultural produce for their
food, as they would be in Guernsey if they lived there in any great
numbers.

The Wood Pigeon is mentioned by Professor Ansted and marked as only
occurring in Guernsey, and probably as far as breeding is concerned this
is right (of course with the exception of Jersey); but wandering flocks
probably occasionally visit Alderney as well. There is no specimen in
the Museum.

92. ROCK DOVE. _Columba livia_, Linnaeus. French, "Colombe biset."--I
have never seen the Rock Dove in any of the Islands, though there are
many places in all of them that would suit its habits well; and Mr.
MacCulloch writes to me to say, "I have heard that in times past the
Rock Pigeon used to breed in large numbers in the caves around Sark";
but this certainly is not the case at present. Captain Hubbach also
writes to me from Alderney, "There were some Rock Doves here in the
winters of