106 FAMILIAR li'ILI) BIRDS. 



northerly counties afford convenient retreats for one of the 

 most widely distributed of the pigeon family. 



The Ruck Dove is undoubtedly the founder of the 

 almost numberless varieties of tame pig-eons with Avhich 

 our poultry -yards abound. In spealc.ing' of this fact, Morris 

 observes, " If you look;_at each and every oiie of the pii^ns 

 that fly about the barn and fold-yard, or ris e in a flo ck 

 from the open Held, or are huno- up in the poulterer's shop 

 in the narrowest streets of London, you wnll see that almost 

 every individual bird, let the varied colours of its i)lumag"e 

 be what they may, has a patch of white over the tail. This 

 will at once show you that it must derive its origin from 

 the species at present before us, and not, as naturally might 

 be sui)posed, from the common wild i)igeon of the woods. '^ 



The leiio-th of the Rock Dove is about thirtegn Jnches ; 

 bill dullish-brown slightly tinged with yellow, much flat- 

 tened about the middle. Iris, pale orange; head, crown, 

 and back of neck, bluish-grey ; sides of neck beautifully 

 glossed with sheeny reflections of purply-red and green ; 

 chin, bluish-grey ; throat, purple and green according to 

 the light ; breast and back, light bluish-grey, and white 

 on the rump. 



The wings measure twenty-five or twenty-six inches 

 when expanded; they are of a dull bluish-grey, with two 

 conspicuous bands of black; under wing-coverts are white. 

 The tail is bluish-grey, tipped at the end with a band ot 

 black about an inch in dei)tli. The legs and toes are red 

 and scaled on the front and upper parts; claws, a brownish- 

 black. The female is less bright in colour than the male, 

 and the bands on wings and tail are browner, but the sexes 

 are not easily distinguished. The feathers are very loosely 

 set, and are easily pulled out. 



