COLUMBID.«. 



47' 



THE ROCK-DOVK. 

 CoLUMBA LI VIA, J. F. Gmelin. 



The Rock-Dove is, I believe, only to be found in a truly wild 

 state in localities where caves or deep fissures exist, and these are 

 few and far between in the east and south of England. Even in 

 some places which appear to offer the requisite conditions — such as 

 the Channel Islands — this species is little known ; while it is very 

 local in Devonshire, and only a few frequent the clififs of Cornwall. 

 It can be traced along the coast of Wales, and to one spot in 

 Cumberland, as well as to the Isle of Man ; while on the eastern sea- 

 board it is found at Flamborough Head and in Northumberland. 

 Birds — apparently wild — sometimes frequent holes in cliffs inland as 

 well as on the coast, but they are open to the suspicion of being 

 partially domesticated individuals which have reverted to a wild 

 state, or the descendants of such. Along the coast of Scotland, 

 from the Bass upwards, the wild Rock-Dove is generally distributed ; 

 while in the Shetlands, Orkneys, Hebrides, and on the west side, 

 almost every district has its ' Ua' Caloman,' or ' doo-cave.' In 

 Ireland, especially among the rugged wave-hollowed cliffs facing the 

 Atlantic, it is abundant, and there the breed is found in all its purity. 



In the Fteroes this species is plentiful, but in Scandinavia it 

 is very local, and in the rest of Europe decidedly uncommon, 



