PIGEONS. 



237 



bush or tree-jungle, and in Africa, the great desert of Sahara or other similar regions. 

 Some exhibit considerable pugnacity, the males continually skirmishing amon<>- them- 

 selves. The flesh is not very much esteemed, being generally dry and of little or no 

 flavor. When approaching their drinking-places, they are very cautious, and circle 

 about the water several times before alighting, and remain only a few moments. On 

 such occasion, they sometimes congregate in many thousands, but disperse, after allay- 

 ing their thirst, to seek for food. The eggs are usually cream-color, spotted with 

 brownish, and three to ten in number. The young run from the period they emerge 

 from the shell. 



ORDER XIV. COLUMB7E. 



The well-known birds, pigeons and doves, which constitute this order have such a char- 

 acteristic physiognomy that any one, whether a naturalist or not, can at once accord them 

 their proper designation. They are possessed of a moderate size, straight or slightly 

 curved bill, the basal portion covered with a soft, fleshy membrane (this being frequently 

 tumid or bulged into a prominence) in which the nostrils are situated. The apical 

 portion varies much in shape among the different species, being slender or stout, 

 slightly or greatly curved. The gape is wide. The wings are long and pointed in 

 most species, only the ground-pigeons having short or rounded wings, and some have 

 the first primary falcate or sickle-shaped ; others again have this feather notched, as in 

 the Falconidae. The tail is even, rounded, or wedge-shaped, usually long, and contains 

 from twelve to twenty feathers. The coloring of these rectrices is frequently of 

 striking contrasts, and they contribute greatly to the beauty of outline and general 

 appearance of the birds. The eyes are large, set well back from the bill, and often of 

 bright colors. The tarsi are short and stout, feathered in a few species, bare in the 

 rest, and covered in front with small scales. The feet are rather laree, the toes 



O ' 



divided to the base, except in some arboreal species which have the outer toe slightly 

 joined to the middle one ; the soles are rather broad and flat. Pigeons also possess 

 certain peculiarities in their internal anatomy to separate them from other orders, 

 such as the narrow sternum, Avith two notches on each side, the outer one deep, the 

 inner often reduced to a foramen, and they have a deep keel for the attachment of the 

 large pectoral muscles. The furculum is flat and Avithout appendages ; the gizzard 

 very muscular ; intestines long and slender, with minute casca. The crop is large and 

 double, becomes glandular in the breeding season, secreting a milky fluid which 

 moistens the food upon which the young are nourished. There is in some species no 

 gall-bladder, but others possess it. The feathers, unlike those of the members of 

 Rasores, do not possess the supplementary plume. 



Pigeons are monogamous, both sexes occupying themselves with nest-building, 

 incubation, and rearing the young. The nests are loosely constructed, and never more 

 than two eggs are laid, always pure white in hue. The young are born naked, blind 

 and helpless, and are assiduously cared for by their parents, who feed them with the 

 moistened food from their crops. Pigeons eat fruit, seeds, and grain ; and drink by a 

 continuous draught, immersing the bill to the nostrils in the water. In this habit 



~ t ~ 



they differ from all other known birds. The lower larynx is furnished with two pairs 



of muscles, and the voice is soft and plaintive, either a kind of coo or a rolling whistle. 



The birds of this order are found all over the world, most numerous in the eastern 



hemisphere, especially in the islands of the archipelagoes and in Australia. About 



