COLUMBID.E. 



48: 



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THE ROCK-DOVE. 



CoLUMBA LiviA, J. F. Giiielin. 



The Rock-Dove is, I believe, only to be found in a truly wild 

 state in localities where caves or deep fissures exist, and such as 

 these are few and far between in the east and south of England. 

 Even in some places which appear to offer the requisite conditions 

 - — such as the Channel Islands — this species is little known ; while 

 it is very local in Devonshire, and only a few frequent the cliffs of 

 Cornwall. It can be traced along the coast of Wales and to one 

 spot in Cumberland, as well as to the Isle of Man, while on the 

 eastern sea-board it is found near Flamborough Head. Birds — • 

 apparently wild — sometimes frequent holes in cliffs inland, as well as 

 on the coast, but they are open to the suspicion of being partially 

 domesticated individuals which have reverted to a wild state, or 

 the descendants of such. Along the coast of Scotland, from St. 

 Abb's Head northward, the wild Rock-Dove is widely distributed ; 

 while in the Shetlands and Orkneys, as well as in the Hebrides, and 

 along the west side, almost every district has its " Ua' Caloman," 

 or ' doo-cave.' In Ireland, especially among the rugged wave- 

 hollowed cliffs facing the Atlantic, the Rock-Dove is abundant, and 

 there the breed is found in all its purity. 



In the Faeroes this species is plentiful, but in Scandinavia it is very 



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