450 



PIGEON. 



nobody will dispute this, and therefore we at once 

 subjoin the Q. E. D., which is understood to seal the 

 matter in every clear and satisfactory demonstration 

 of truth. Having done this, \ve shall briefly advert 

 to the ColumbidtB in their proper character as a family 

 in their more obvious subdivisions, and in one or two 

 of the most interesting species of each. 



The general characters are : the bill arched, the 

 nostrils pierced in a large membranous space, and 

 each covered with a cartilaginous scale ; this mem- 

 brane is often enlarged to a considerable size at the 

 base of the bill ; the sternum consists of firm bone, 

 but is deeply and doubly notched in the posterior 

 part, though different in different species ; the craw 

 or crop is very large, and capable of great dilatation ; 

 and some of the varieties of the tame pigeon have the 

 power of distending it to a'very great'size by inflating 

 it with air ; the larynx at the bronchial, or lower ex- 

 tremity of the windpipe, has only a single muscle, so 

 that they have little or no voice except a sort of 

 murmuring coo, which, however, is generally soft 

 and pleasant, though melancholy, and some of them 

 can give it a little modulation as to time, though 

 scarcely any in pitch ; the feet have three toes to the 

 front, but they have no connecting membrane at the 

 base any more produced than it is on the sides of 

 the toes, and the hind toe is articulated on the same 

 level with the three front ones.; there is thus but little 

 spring in the foot, and they cannot run fast, though 

 many of them can walk well ; their wings and style 

 of flight vary considerably, according to the mode of 

 life for which they are adapted ; but whether their 

 flights be long or short, high or low, they may all be 

 said to be good flyers. We have already alluded to 

 their monogamy and small brood, but the brood is 

 fepeated in the course of the year, and thus they are 

 upon the whole very prolific birds. Their nests are 

 not. made with the greatest care, but they are much 

 superior to those of the Gallimdce, which, generally 

 speaking, do not deserve the name of nests at all. 

 They are placed in trees, or in the holes of rocks ; 

 the rock ones in general build high, and the tree ones 

 in places where there is close foliage. Such are the 

 leading characters which apply to the whole ; and we 

 shall now advert to the greater divisions. 



Cuvier may be regarded as still the best authority 

 in this respect, because, though not nearly so minute 

 as that of others, his division is sufficient to reach a 

 general character in each of the three genera into 

 which he divides the family. We shall, however, 

 reverse the order in which he takes these genera ; 

 because, while he places those first which bear the 

 closest resemblance to the Gallinidce in some habits 

 we shall consider them in their own characters as a 

 distinct family, and, therefore, we shall place those 

 first which have the most striking and decided cha- 

 racter. Taking them in this order, the three genera 

 will be : first, Strong-billed Pigeons, or those which 

 subsist chiefly upon the fruits of trees and shrubs 

 secondly, Common Pigeons, or those which, though 

 they are still discursive flyers, live more upon the 

 seeds of herbaceous plants, which they pick either 

 from the plants themselves, or from the ground ; and 

 thirdly, Ground Pigeons, or those which reside chiefly 

 upon the ground, and take only short flights, though 

 they also nestle in trees and shrubs, only at smaller 

 elevations than the others. 



In each of these genera there are great diversities 

 and they have accordingly been divided and sub 



divided ; but, for the reasons already assigned, we 

 >hall not go into the particulars of those divisions. 



STRONG-BILLED PIGEONS (Vinago], The distin- 

 uishing characters of these are : the bill stout, very 

 lard in the distal half, but flexible in the basal, strong 

 11 its substance, arched in the outline of both man- 

 dibles, hooked, and very sharp at the tip of the upper 

 one, and compressed in its whole length ; their tarsi 

 are short and clothed with feathers, and their feet are 

 adapted for perching on trees, and not so much for 

 walking on the ground ; in order to give them a 

 irmer footing on the branches, the toes are margined 

 3y a pretty extensive membrane ; the external front 

 toe is the largest, as in climbers and tree birds gene- 

 rally ; and the claws are strong, sharp, and very much 

 booked. All these characters are possessed in a 

 greater degree by some of them, and in a less degree 

 by others ; but still they are sufficient in the whole tc 

 bring them together, if not as a perfectly-defined 

 genus, at least as a group very distinct from the othei 

 two divisions of the family. 



Their appearances and manners, and even then 

 principal locality, may be said also to be ditterent 

 and though there are other pigeons along with them 

 they are the characteristic pigeons of the south-east 

 of a part of the south of Asia, of the Eastern Isles 

 of the Isles of the Pacific, of New Holland, and alsc 

 of Africa, but chiefly, we believe, of the eastern hal 

 of it. They are altogether forest birds, and inhabi 

 the tall trees, living upon fruits, which their powerfu 

 wings, the firm clutch of their feet, the hard textun 

 of their bills, and their general strength, enable then 

 easily to reach and secure. Their colours are ii 

 general very rich and beautifully marked ; green an< 

 yellow are the predominating ones in almost ever 

 species ; but many of them have also purple, browr 

 red, and white, though the latter rather sparingly, an< 

 some have a sort of cinnamon-brown and orange-rei 

 as the predominating colours. 



The whole of them are birds of powerful wing, am 

 in general their wings are pointed, and in many th 

 tails are long. Indeed, the form of the tail differs s 

 much, that it cannot be admitted as a character of th 

 genus taken as a whole, or even of those subdivision 

 which have been made of it. Though many of ther 

 migrate, their general habit may be said to be habitus 

 residence in the close forests of those countries wher 

 they dwell, and we are not aware that any of ther 

 reside in a place where the trees are not evergreens 

 and capable of supplying some kind of nourishmer 

 at every season of the year. A considerable number c 

 them have been for some time known to naturalist: 

 and specimens are to be found in most collections c 

 stuffed birds, while a great number of them are figure 

 by Temminck, and some have been kept alive i 

 Europe. Several species, however, are comparativel 

 of recent discovery, and it is highly probable tht 

 future observation may discover many more. Thei 

 range being about seven thousand miles in lor 

 gitude, and more than four thousand in latitude 

 besides being so extensive, their country, though a 

 decidedly tropical, is much diversified in its character 

 and the retiring habits and colours of the birds rende 

 them not easily seen, although it were possible t 

 beat the mighty forssts of those parts of the worl 

 with the same ease as a pheasant-grove or cover ca 

 be beat in England. When they are discovered ir 

 deed, it is, as is the case with pheasants at night, b 

 the ear and not by the eye, for they coo away i 



