COUTMBID.fi. 



coLr.MBin.tt. 



i to all ; but it is generally under peculiar or artificial circuni- 

 s, and rarely when UM animals, birds, or whatever they may 

 be. an in their natural state, and in a condition to make their own 

 It M seen in the unmiis obtained in a state of confinement 

 UM canary and goldfinch, linnet, Ac. ; in the hybrids between 

 apeoiea of Amultdm, when domesticated or kept in captivity ; 

 SB belwsen UM pheasant and common fowl, Ac. ... 



i produce of the common wild turtle ( TW/nr communu) 



pale purplish-red. Wings when closed reaching within half an inch 

 f the end of the tail. (Selby.) 



with UM tortk of UM aviary (fW<w rwon'iu) hai been proved by 

 freqoeat expmmeote to be barren, although the two species from 

 whence it originate, appear to be doaely allied, and a mixed breed 

 la aa*Uy procured ; and such, we hare no hesitation in sayinir, would 

 b* UM neat if a era* could be obtained between the common pigeon 

 and UM ring pigwn, UM wood pigeon, or any other species." These 

 nlaaisliuM an well worthy of attention. The amertiou respecting 



UM bastard produce of the turtles, made above, is corroborated by 

 Measii Boitard and Corbie in their ' Histoire des Pigeons de Voliere,' 

 and UM principle ie further confirmed by the experiments of MauduyV 

 TletUot, and CorbW. 



The varieUea of this bird produced under the fostering hand of 

 man, the tumbler*, croppers, jacobines, ruuta, spots, turbits, owls, 

 nun*. Ac Ac., wuuld fill a volume. Our limits will not permit us to 

 gun or describe them. The Carrier however demands notice. In 

 one of his odea (tli ntftrrtfiar) Anacreon has immortalised it as the 

 bearer of epistles. Tauroethenee sent to his expectant father, who 

 resided in .Cgina, the glad tidings of his success in the Olympic 

 games on UM very day of his victory. Pliny (' Nat Hist,' book x. 

 7) spelts of the communication kept up between Hirtius and 

 Decimua Brutus at the siege of Xutina (Modena) : " What availed An- 

 tony the trench and the watch of the besiegers ; what availed the nets 

 (retia) stretched acroas the river, while the messenger was cleaving 

 UM air (per ecelum eunte nuntio)." The Crusaders employed them, 

 and Joinville records an instance during the crusade of Saint Louis. 

 'Gierusalemme Liberate,' cant xviii. sings of one that was 

 1 by a falcon and defended by Godfrey, 



" Che dat eotto ad un Bio vinta prnde' 

 aUacaiaaa earta, e wtto un' ala aacoaa." 



' carte* Godfrey of course reads, and is put in possession of all 

 In the same way Ariosto (cant xv.) makes the ' Castellan di 

 nad UM news of Orrilo's death all over Egypt Sir John 

 i, knight, warrior, and pilgrim, who penetrated to the border 

 of China in the reign* of our Second and Third Edward, thus writes : 

 - In that contree and other oontrees bexonde thei nan a custom, whan 

 thai achulle usen werre, and whan men holden sege abouten cytee or 

 oaatilla, and thei withinnen dur not senden out measagers with letters 

 fro lord to lord, for to sake sokour, thei maken here letters and 

 byndon them to the nekke of a C'olrer, and letten the Colver flee 

 and the Col vena ben so taughto that thei fleen with the letters to 

 the very place that men wolde seode hem to. For the Colveres ben 



sent to ; and thei senden hem 

 the Colveres retourneu azeu 



UM very place that men wold* aeode h 

 noryascht in too places where thai ben 

 thoa for to baran ban letters. And 

 where aa thai ban norisecht, and so the 

 The Carrier however gradually sank, 



of UM intelligence of the felon's death at Tyburn Hogarth's 

 print win occur to every body : it became the messenger from the 

 and prue-ring, and was also largely used in stock-jobbing 

 s. The invention and application however of the electric 

 baa to a considerable extent superseded the use of the 



Oksdsvttasm 



BOOM idea of UM astonishing fecundity of the domesticated pigeon 

 ay be derived from UM assertion of Biberg, who observes that if 







Cml eosras rt dalota lalcbrow la pumlct nidi.' 



In UM Orkneys and Hebrides it is said to swarm. " It also met 

 w&fc upon UM northern and western ooaste of Sutherland, the perfo 

 rated and cavernous rocks which gird the eastern side of Loch Eriboll 

 and UMM of UM limestone district of Durneaa, furnishing suitabl 

 place* of retreat; and again upon UM eastern coasts of Scotland it is 

 ana about UM rocky steeps of the Isle of Bass and the bold promon 

 tory of 8*, Abb's Head." (Belby.) 



ws in ite wild state has UM following characters : Bill blackwh 

 brown ; UM nostril membrane red, tprinkUd as it were with a whiU 

 wwder. Tbe iride* pale raddiah-oruge. Head and throat bluiah 

 gray. Sides of UM neck and upper part of UM breast dark lav. ml. . 

 prt>U. !. -I with sbadea of green and purplish-rod. Lower part 

 of Inert and abdomen Uaiabray. Upper mandible and wing 

 eoTrrta Mw^ray. Greater oovarlaand woadaries barred with black, 

 so that tben an two broad and distinct ban across the closed wings. 

 UPWW put of UM back white ; rump and teil-coverte bluish-gray 

 Tail d**i> gray, with a broad black bar at the end. Legs and fee 





Wild Hock-Pigeon (Cutumlxi 



Turtur (Ectopittitue, Selby).^Bill more slender thnii that uf 'In 

 LTfunrt. Tip of the upper mandible gently deflect*-.!, tluit of the 

 ower scarcely exhibiting the appearance of an angle. Tarsi ^ruthcr 

 shorter than the middle toe. Feet formed for walking or pcivhing ; 

 tnier toe longer than the outer. Front of taivi rojvrcd with broad 

 lubricated scales. Wings first quill a little shorter than the gecuml, 

 third longest of all Tail rounded or slightly graduated. (Selby.) 



T. ritoritu. It is the Colnmba ritoria of authors; T. ton/mil iu 

 Sentgalenrii, Briasou ; Tourterelle a Collier, Buffon ;' probably the 

 Turtle of the Scriptures, and still plentiful in Egypt and other eastern 

 countries, where it is often kept in confinement The relics of Greek 

 and Roman art give a very fair representation of this species ; but 

 Belon and others seem to be of opinion that the T. cotntnunin, Common 

 Turtle Dove, was the Tpvyav of the Greeks. 



Tui'lut- riiufi't/.*. 



The following is a description of a wild specimen from Southern 

 Africa : Length about 10 inches. Chin whitish ; from the corners 

 of the mouth to the eyes a narrow streak of black. Forehead pale 

 bluish-gray; crown darker; cheeks, neck, breast, and belly, gray, 

 tinged with vinaceotis or pale purplish-red ; the hind neck with a 

 demi-collar of black ; some of the side feathers of the collar tipped 

 with white. Back, scapulars, and rump, pale clove-brown, with a 

 greenish tinge. Margins of wings, greater coverts, and under win^- 

 covertu, blue-gray. Greater quills hair-brown, delicately edged with 

 grayish-white. Vent and under tail-coverts white. Legs and feet 

 gray ; inner toe a little longer than" the outer. (Sell.y.) 



In ite natural state this species haunts the woods, where it breeds, 



