TURTLE-DOVE. 495 



discriminating between those which are feres naturce and 

 the individuals which have reverted to a feral state is 

 rendered very difficult. 



The extraordinary capacity of Wild- Pigeons' crops has 

 frequently been commented on ; as an instance of this bird's 

 voracious appetite it may be mentioned that an example 

 was obtained at Fryup, near Whitby, in February 1871, 

 whose crop contained seeds of the wild rape ; these were 

 counted, and totalled 7,424, besides which there were 65 

 seeds of corn and barley, making altogether 7,489. 



The vernacular name is Blue-Rock or Cliff Pigeon in 

 ordinary use ; at Flamborough and Bempton it is known 

 to the fishermen and cliff-climbers as Rock Pigeon, in contra- 

 distinction to the Stock-Dove, whose cognomen is Rock-Dove. 



TURTLE-DOVE. 



Turtur communis {Selby). 



Summer visitant ; extremely local, but is increasing ; breeds 

 in several districts, and is extending its range northward. Observed 

 on the coast on both the vernal and autumnal migrations. Of rare 

 occurrence in the west of the county. 



The earliest notice of this, as a Yorkshire bird, is contained 

 in the Report of Thomas Allis, written in 1844, thus : — 



Coliimha turtur. — The Turtle Dove — R. Leyland reports a single 

 specimen shot some years ago near Halifax ; Dr. Farrar has seen but 

 one specimen which was shot near Rotherham about 1S24 ; H. Chapman 

 mentions it as having occurred to him ; it is mentioned by W. Yarrell 

 as having been taken near Scarborough ; and I had one specimen 

 which was shot at High Catton, near York ; a single bird only has 

 been seen by Arthur Strickland in the vicinity of Bridlington. 



Popularly supposed to be a south-country bird, the 

 Turtle-Dove has of late years, like some other species, been 

 extending its range northward. In the middle of the past 

 century, Thomas Allis, in his " Report on the Birds of 



