Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland, 285 



stroyed by these birds, which are accused of flying against the 

 standing stalks, and prostrating them, to feed upon the pickles, and 

 alighting with the same evil intent on the masses prostrated by 

 storm or rain, as well as on the " stooks." Wheat is their favourite 

 — and it is said that for it " they will fly a mile farther • ■ than for 

 any other grain. 



Though the ring-dove is prized in the north of Ireland, the young 

 are not regularly sought after for the table, as they are stated by 

 Mr. Waterton to be in Yorkshire. This gentleman in his ' Essays 

 on Natural History,' and Mr. Macgillivray in his ■ British Birds,' give 

 full and interesting accounts of the species. In France and Switzer- 

 land I have, in summer and autumn, observed the ring-dove to be 

 equally common as in the British Islands*. 



Rock-Dove, Columba Livia, Brissonf. — About the rock- 

 bound and caverned coasts on all sides of Ireland, and the 

 adjacent islands, this species has occurred to me. It is like- 

 wise to be found at inland caves and grottos, such as in lime- 

 stone districts especially are not unfrequent. Some authors 

 speak of the sea-coast only as frequented by the rock-dove, 

 but from personal observation it can be stated, that caverns, 

 be they inland or marine, are its natural abiding-places ; and 

 whether situated in the inland solitude, close by the din of 

 the water-fall, or the " roar of ocean's waves," are equally 

 resorted to. 



* The Stock-Dove, C. (Enas, is unknown both to Ireland and Scotland. 

 In England it is said to frequent only the midland and eastern counties. 



f This bird is the parent of the common tame pigeon. When the dove- 

 cot is not far distant from the nestling-places of the wild birds in the rocks, 

 the tame ones often resort thither and pair with them, and the mottled pro- 

 duce seen frequenting wild localities often puzzle the tyro ornithologist. 

 It may be mentioned, on account of the period of time that elapsed on the 

 occasion, that a tame pigeon taken from Belfast to the Falls, two miles 

 distant, and shut up in a room for twelve months, immediately on being 

 liberated flew back to its old quarters. 



The following paragraph on carrier pigeons appeared in the Leinster Ex- 

 press newspaper in Dec. 1842 : — " One of these pigeons was let loose from 

 Palmerston-house, near Chapelizod, the seat of the Earl of Donoughmore, 

 when it accomplished the journey to Castle Bernard, which is upwards of 

 sixty-two miles, in two hours ; yet the flight was much impeded, as the day 

 was both dark and hazy, accompanied with a strong head wind at the time. 

 At the late fair of Ballinasloe, Thomas Bernard, Esq. took with him one of 

 these birds, which he let go in the town at eleven o'clock a.m. with a note 

 appended, directing dinner to be ready at Castle Bernard at the given time, 

 as he purposed being home that day, when the bird took its flight, and 

 the message was delivered in eleven minutes after, having travelled twenty- 

 three miles Irish in that wonderful short space of time, or, in other words, 

 at the rate of 125| miles an hour. These pigeons, of which Mr. Bernard 

 has a large flock, are so domesticated, that he can handle them as he pleases, 

 and so very tractable are they, that whenever he calls, they attend the call 

 promptly." 



An interesting note on the attachment shown by a tame pigeon to her 

 mate, which had been shot and gibbeted in a pea-field, is related by Mr. 

 Jesse, in his ' Gleanings of Natural History,' p. 112, 1st series. 



