The delights of hand-feeding turtle doves - but how sad that so few are to be seen (or heard) today

 

How enchanting! William Quiller Orchardson's painting, entitled Feeding Pigeons, dates back to 1901 when turtle doves were more conspicuous - far more conspicuous - than they are today. But was ever there really a time when they could be fed by hand? Orchardson was a prolific Scottish artist who lived between 1832 and 1910.