PIGEONS 199 



Another species nesting in our woods is the Turtle- Dove (Turtur 

 auritus). It is a summer visitor in England, breeding in the region south 

 of Yorkshire, but rare to the northward. In the South of Europe, North 

 Africa, and Western Asia it is a very common species. It obtains its name 

 from its cooing, which sounds like " tur-tur " frequently repeated. On 

 account of its gentleness and handsome plumage (rufous in general, with 

 four black white-edged stripes on each side of the neck), this bird, as well 

 as the Collared Turtle-Dove (T. risorius), is often kept in cages. The 

 last-named species derives its name from the voice of the male, which 

 resembles the sound of human laughter. Its home is on the desert 

 steppes of East Africa and Western Asia. The plumage, accordingly, is 

 cream-coloured (Isabelline), like the soil on which it lives. (Compare 

 with lion and gazelle.) The nape of the neck is adorned with a black 

 transverse band. 



The Passenger Pigeon of North America (Ectopistes migrator ius) 

 has acquired general notoriety on account of the enormous flocks in 

 which it roves about the country in search of food. Flocks of this bird 

 have been observed consisting of many millions of individuals, aggregated 

 in such density as to obscure the sun, and by their acid droppings ruining 

 woods to the extent of many square miles. Fields visited by such hosts 

 are destroyed in a very brief space of time. These birds breed in woods 

 in the neighbourhood of which they can obtain food in abundance, as 

 many as 100 nests being sometimes found in a single tree. Owing to 

 the destruction of the forests, however, these birds are being rapidly 

 exterminated. 



ORDER VIII. : GALLINACEOUS BIRDS (GALLINACEI). 



BEAK short, somewhat curved anteriorly, hard at the base. The edges of 

 the upper portion of the bill overlapping those of the lower half ; nostrils 

 having the form of clefts, and covered by a hard, scale-like flap. Wings 

 generally short and arched. Legs robust. The posterior toe (hallux), 

 when present, usually articulated at a higher level than the anterior 

 toes. Young independent of nest from birth (" precocious ") 



Family i : Pheasant-like Birds (Phasianidae). 



The Domestic Fowl (Gallus domesticus] . 



A. Origin and Varieties. 



History does not tell when the fowl was first domesticated. It is, 

 however, certain that more than 1,000 years B.C. it was kept as a 



