172 rJARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS. 



])ir(ls crivo tlio yoium the i:raiii almost at onco, merely 

 keeping it in their crops till they have got enough of it. 



Grain of various kinds is, as everyone knows, the 

 favourite food of most Pigeons, but as they cannot always 

 get it. they eat a good deal of green food and a few small 

 snails as well. A good many species, however, are fruit- 

 eaters, and never touch grain. These have stouter beaks 

 and shorter shanks than the grain-eating Pigeons. 



Pigeons are strong fliers, and use their powerful wings 

 in fighting, their beaks being so weak, although 

 they can do each other a good deal of harm with them if 

 too closely confined. For, in spite of their reputation 

 for gentleness, they are inveterate fighters in a petty 

 nagging way. To birds other than their own family, 

 however, they are usually quite harmless. This makes 

 them very desirable as aviary birds, for they can be 

 kept with birds of other families smallei' than themselves. 

 They breed very readily in confinement, and are easier 

 to manage than any other birds ; both parents sit and 

 feed the young, and need no special food when breeding. 



It is, however, in most cases almost impossible to tell 

 the cock from the hen, as their plumage is exactly simi- 

 lar ; the young are rather different in many cases. 

 The actions of the cock when courting nvv veiv interest- 

 ing and differ much in the diflerent groups. 



Pigeons aic not usually migratory, and are most 

 numerous in a hot climate ; there are many wild sj)ocies 

 in India, of which (>nl\' a few can be noticed here. In 

 addition to the common domestic Pigeon, which is descend- 

 ed from the wild Blue Kock Pigeons of Europe and 



