120 FAUNA AND FLORA OF PALESTINE. 



The Rock Dove is spread over the whole of Europe and North- 

 Western Asia. Eastward its place is taken by closely allied species. 



271. Columba schiviperi. Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. ii., p. 48. Ash- 

 rumped Rock Dove. 



In the interior of Palestine and in the Jordan valley this species takes the 

 place of the more northern form, C. livia. Its ashy rump, and the lighter 

 hue of the lower parts, separate it at a glance. The myriads of these birds 

 are beyond computation. The Wadys, with precipitous cliffs of soft lime- 

 stone, honeycombed by caves and fissures, are admirably adapted for 

 them, and several are named from them ' Wady Hamam' — i.e.. Ravine 

 of Pigeons. Their swift flight, and their roosting-places far in the 

 fissures, secure them from the attacks of the many hawks which share 

 the caverns with them. It is this bird which is alluded to by the Prophet 

 Jeremiah : ' Ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities and dwell in the rock, 

 and be like the Dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole's 

 mouth ' (xlviii. 28). 



This race of Rock Dove seems to be peculiar to Egypt, Abyssinia, 

 and Palestine. 



272. Ttirhir comnmitis. Selby, Nat. Lib. Orn, v., p. 169. Turtle 

 Dove. Heb., IW. 



The return of the Common Turtle Dove is one of the most marked 

 epochs in the ornithological calendar. ' The Turtle and the Crane and the 

 Swallow observe the time of their coming ' (Jer. viii. 7). ' The voice of 

 the Turtle is heard in our land' (Cant. ii. 12). Search the glades and 

 valleys in March, and not a Turtle Dove is to be seen. Return at the 

 beginning of April, and clouds of Doves are feeding on the clovers of the 

 plain. They stock every tree and thicket. At every step they flutter up from 

 the herbage in front — they perch on every tree and bush — they overspread 

 the whole face of the land, and from every garden, grove, and wooded 

 hill pour forth their melancholy yet soothing ditty unceasingly from early 

 dawn till sunset. 



The native regions of the Turtle Dove are the countries surrounding 

 the Mediterranean, not extending eastward of Persia. 



