172 GARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS. 
birds give the young the grain almost at once, 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 smaller 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 are very interest- 
ing and differ much in the different groups. 
Pigeons are not usually migratory, and are most 
numerous ina hot climate; there are many wild species 
in India, of which only a few can be noticed here. In ad- 
dition to the common domestic Pigeon, which is descend 
ed from the wild Blue Rock Pigeons of Europe and 
