The Pigeons. 



233 



THE 



WOOD PIGEON. 



(Colnniba f-alumbus.) 



The Stock-Dove. 

 The Wood-Pigeon. 



This hand- 

 some bird is 

 found in most 

 parts of the 



British Islands, with the excep- 

 tion of tlie north of Scotland, 



whither, however, it is gradually 



extending its range. It is lound 



throughout Europe, and as far 



east as Central Asia. 



In the country the Wood- 



Pigeon is one the shyest of birds, 



and it is only in the autumn and 



winter, when they feed on the 



beech-mast, that they are seen in 



an}' numbers together. The large 



size of the species and the white 



marks on the side of the neck and 



the wing easily distinguish this 



Pigeon in flight. The nest is a 



platform ot crossed sticks placed 



in a tree or bush. The eggs are two in number, pure white, and measure an inch- 



and-a-half to an inch-and-three-quarters in length. 



The range of the Stock-Dove is similar to that of the Wood- 

 Pigeon, but it goes further to the eastward in Central Asia. 

 It is found throughout the greater part of Great Britain, and is 

 extending its range in Scotland and Ireland. 

 The Stock-Dove differs from the Wood-Pigeon in its smaller size, and in the 



absence of the white patches on the neck and on the bend of the wing. It has also 



four spots of black on the wing, caused by the black bases to some of the inner 



coverts and secondary quills : these spots are absent in the Wood-Pigeon. Unlike 



the latter bird, the Stock-Dove nests in the hole of a tree or cliff, as well as in rabbit 



burrows. The nest consists of a few sticks or roots, and sometimes there is no nest 



at all, the two white eggs being laid at the bottom of the hole : the eggs measure 



about an inch-and-a-half in length. 



This bird is easih' recognised by its white lower back and by 

 the black bands across the wings. It is found throughout 

 ICurope to Central Asia and North-western India, and frequently 

 crosses with domestic Pigeons, of which it is the parent stock. 



In Great Britain it is a local bird and nests in the sea-cliffs of the north of England, 



as well as in Scotland and Ireland. The nest is built on a shelf of rock in a cave or 



THE 

 STOCK-DOVE. 

 {Columbii ivnas.) 



THE 

 ROCK-DOVE. 



(CoUimba livia.) 



