DOMESTIC PIGEONS 87 



Christian era, the domestic pigeon was already 

 an old established breed. 



Like the barn-yard cock, the pigeon and all its 

 races arose from a single ancestral form, the 

 wild rock dove. This species still exists in Eng- 

 land and the mountainous parts of Europe, ex- 

 tending through Asia down into India. Both the 

 wild and domestic forms live together in perfect 

 harmony, and both are found on the streets of 

 Paris, the rock dove as much at home as its more 

 specialized brother and nearly as tame. The wild 

 bird has been attracted to the city where, while 

 retaining its freedom, it can at the same time 

 take advantage of what the civilization of man- 

 kind has brought. 



At this point it may be well to define the differ- 

 ence between a pigeon and a dove. There is no 

 anatomical distinction between the two. A line 

 of demarcation does not exist. "Dove" is the 

 Anglo-Saxon term and " pigeon " the Norman, 

 and the latter bears the same relation to the 

 former that "mutton" bears to "sheep." 

 "Pigeon" has been adopted for the domestic 

 bird by common usage. That is why it is not 

 wrong to say that the bird descended from a rock 

 "dove." 



Darwin was the first to suspect the wild species 

 as the progenitor of the race, and he proceeded 

 to demonstrate his theory in characteristic 

 fashion. Even in the earliest recorded descrip- 



