RASORES : COLUMBID^E. 23! 



COLUMBID.E, OR DOVE FAMILY. This Family com- 

 prises those which have the bill horny at the tip, tail- 

 feathers twelve, occasionally fourteen, and the plumage 

 more or less adorned with metallic lustre. About a 

 dozen species are found in North America, and all but 

 two or three belong to the southern and southwestern 

 portions. 



The Genus Columba has the head large, and the tail 

 short, broad, and rounded. It comprises the Band-tailed 

 Pigeon, C. fasciata, Say, of Western North America ; the 

 Red-billed Dove, C.flavirostris, Wagl., of the Lower Rio 

 Grande ; and the White-headed Pigeon, C. leucocephala, 

 Linn., of Florida Keys. 



The Rock Dove, C. livia, Briss., of Europe and Asia, 

 is of a slate-gray color, the neck glossy with greenish 

 hues, the rump white, and a double black band upon the 

 wings. This species is celebrated as the probable stock 

 of most, if not all, of our domestic varieties. 



The Carrier Pigeon is a domestic variety which from 

 very ancient times has been employed more or less for 

 the transmission of intelligence. Formerly it was cus- 

 tomary to suspend the paper upon which the message 

 was written from the neck ; but in later times it has been 

 tied to the upper part of the leg. A message has thus 

 been sent a thousand miles. 



The Genus Ectopistes has the head very small, bill 

 short and black, and the tail very long and cuneate. 



The Wild or Passenger Pigeon, E. migratoria, Sw., of 

 North America east of the High Central Plains, is seven- 

 teen inches long, and the wing eight and a half inches ; 

 the upper parts blue, under parts purplish red passing 

 into whitish behind; and the sides and back of the neck 

 a glossy golden-violet. The female is smaller and much 

 duller in color. This bird is extremely rapid in flight, 

 being able to perform a long journey at an average speed 



