BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



425 



1Ring:==&ovc. 



The Ring-dove {Columba paiumbus, Linnaeus) is a resident 

 species in the British Islands, and, with the exception of the 

 extreme North, inhabits the whole of the Western Palearctic 

 Region, also ranging through Western Asia. The adult has 

 the upper parts bluish-ash ; rump, paler ; lower portion of 

 neck and breast, bluish-grey, suffused with purplish-red and 

 green ; sides of neck have a conspicuous patch of white ; 

 wings, brownish ; wing-coverts, edged with white ; tail, 

 blackish; centre of belly, light grey; irides, light yellow; 

 bill, red at base, towards tip yellowish ; legs and feet, 

 crimson. Length, from fifteen to seventeen inches. The 

 adult female has the neck spot smaller, and the general 

 plumage is duller. The young show no neck spot. 



