THE DIVISIBILITY OF CHARACTERS. 213 



a rather strong beak for their size. The differentiation on the side of the neck should 

 be especially noted. It is a little like what we see in the passenger-ring-dove hybrid. 

 A decided glistening is easily seen, and there is a well-marked differentiation of the 

 feathers. A dissected or flat view of this mark is shown in pi. 32. Some five or six 

 rows of the feathers are apparently stiffer and more scale-like than the rest of the 

 neck-feathers. The two spots come near to meeting on the back, but they do not 

 quite do so. The homing pigeon, like all the common pigeons, has a large amount 

 of iridescence on the neck, and the ring-dove has the black collar as already noted. 

 Now, between the black collar and the iridescence one gets the markings of this 



This female was photographed after 

 death by Mr. Hubbard (photo., Vol. I, 

 pi. 9). The tips of the feathers are too 

 evenly rounded (see drawing of feather 

 from middle of sixth row). Nine rows _.^^,.,-ij. 



show differentiation, metallic green. The XJ,,^"-^'' 

 iridescence covers 9 rows, diniinishinu />^\,,..i'^ 

 rnpi.lly „n Icwcr .3 rows, until, in the ^^-— ^ 



first frathers of tiie rows uf the front- 

 neck show a touch of iridescence. The 

 limitation of the iridescence of these 

 rows, the front-neck showing no irides- 

 cence except in feathers next to the 

 posterior rows, brings this dove clearly 

 between Columba livia and C. fasciata. 

 C. palumbus stands lowest of the three, 

 and next to the turtle-dove (Turtur). 

 The same order applies to the reduced 

 wing-bars. 

 Fig. 1. A feather from middle of sixth 



row (counting down). Middle part ' 



blackish gray, corresponding to black 

 of ring-dove and turtle-dove. The 

 wide tip shows blunt ends rather than 

 tapered ends. X 2. 

 Fio. 2. From front end of ninth row; the 

 front web is vinous and is like others of 

 the fore-neck, but the hind web shows 

 weak iridescence and stronger barbs, 

 though not so strong as in fig. 1. X 2. 



Text-figure 4.— Neck-mark of adult female stock-dove, Columba xnas. Habitat, Western Palacarctic region to 

 Eastern Turkestan. Natural size. Hayashi del., Aug. 1902. 



hybrid, which, one might at first say, does not really resemble either parent. Exam- 

 ination will show, however, that the mark of the hybrid has all the fundamentals of 

 the marks of both parents. 



The nature and several modifications of this mark in the common pigeon and 

 its allies (mostly Columba) are shown as follows: The African owl-pigeon (C. 

 turbata) in text-fig. 3; the stock-dove (C. (e)ias) in text-fig. 4; the band-tail pigeon 

 {C. fasciata) in text-fig. 5; the wood-pigeon {C. palumbus) in text-fig. 6; C. leuco- 

 cephala in pi. 35; Cal. nicobarica in pi. 33. That the neck-mark of hybrids from two 

 crossed members of the genus Columba is also^ an intermediate one may see in the 



' The hybrids previously described were of species belonging to different families. — Editor. 



