COLUMBID. 305 
to brown; irides pale orange; head and neck bluish 
grey, the sides of the latter shining with green and 
purple reflections; shoulders, upper part of the back 
and both sets of wing-coverts French-grey; all the 
greater coverts with a black bar near the end, 
forming a conspicuous black band extending out- 
wards and forwards to the edge of the wing; primary 
and secondary quill-feathers bluish-grey ; the tertials 
French-grey, tipped with black, and with a con- 
spicuous band of black below the black band on the 
coverts, the light-coloured band on the great wing- 
coverts intervening between the two dark bands; 
lower part of the back pure white; rump and upper 
tail-coverts pearl-grey; tail-feathers twelve, of two 
colours, the basal two-thirds pearl-grey, with dark 
shafts, the ends lead-grey; the chin bluish grey; 
the throat purple and green; breast and all the 
under surface of the body pearl-grey; under wing- 
coverts and axillary plume white; legs and toes red- 
dish orange; the claws brown. The females are not 
quite so large as males, and their colours generally 
less brilliant. Young birds in their first or nestling 
plumage, before their autumnal moult, may always 
be distinguished from the young of the Stock Dove 
by the broad patch of pure white on the lower part 
of the back.” I have taken this description from 
Yarrell, as I have not a Rock Dove in my collection, 
but I may add that some of the tame Pigeons do not 
differ, even in the most minute particulars, from it. 
2De 
