4 2 6 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



The first is, as we have said, the Common House Pigeon, differing 

 slightly from the Wild, which almost exclusively supports the popu- 

 lation of pigeon-breeders ; this is sometimes called the Blue Rock. 

 It is only a modification of the Wild Rock-dove ; in form it is, how- 

 ever, more slight, while the plumage is prettier. It is one of the most 

 fruitful species. 



The Pouter Pigeon owes its name to the faculty which it possesses 

 of inflating its crop to an immense size by the introduction of air. 

 This peculiarity often destroys them; indeed, when feeding their 

 young, they find so much difficulty in causing the seeds which they 

 have swallowed to reascend into their beaks, that they contract a 

 malady which is frequently fatal. 



The Roman Pigeons, thus named because they are very common 

 in Italy, are easily recognised from the circle of red which surrounds 

 their eyes. 



The Swift Pigeon is of small size, its flight is light and rapid, and 

 its fecundity very great. 



The Carrier Pigeons belong to this race. They are celebrated for 

 their attachment to their birthplace, or to the spot that contains 

 their offspring, and for the intelligence which enables them to regain 

 their native countries from whatever distance. Transport them miles 

 from their homes, even in a well-closed basket then give them their 

 liberty, and they will return, without the slightest hesitation, to the 

 place from which they were taken. This valuable faculty has long 

 been utilised, especially in the East. The Romans made use of 

 Pigeons as messengers. Pliny says that this means was employed by 

 Brutus and Hirtius to concert together during the siege of a town by 

 Mark Antony. At the siege of Leyden, in 1574, the Prince of 

 Orange employed Carrier Pigeons to carry on a correspondence with 

 the besieged town, which he succeeded in freeing. The Prince, to 

 mark his acknowledgment of the services rendered by these saga- 

 cious birds, wished them to be fed with strawberries, and their bodies 

 to be embalmed after death. We learn from Pierre Belon, the 

 naturalist, that in his time navigators from Egypt and Cyprus took 

 pigeons upon their galleys, and liberated them when they had arrived 

 at the port of destination, in order to announce to their families their 

 safe journey. In our century they have been made use of for 

 similar purposes. The fluctuations of the Bourse were for a long time 

 sent from Paris to Brussels by means of Carrier Pigeons.* 



The Tumbler Pigeon owes its name to its curious manner of flying. 



* In the late siege of Paris they were constantly used. ED. 



