PIGEON. 



455 



to the eastward ; and, from its resemblance to the 

 wood pigeons, it is presumed to have habits not very 

 different from theirs, but those habits are not known. 



We now proceed to the pigeons of the other parts 

 of the world, of which the habits are better known, 

 and therefore the descriptions of them can be ren- 

 dered more interesting. In so far as man is connected 

 with them, the rock pigeon, as the parent stock of all 

 those varieties into which pigeons which know their 

 homes, and return to them of their own accord, have 

 been broken by artificial treatment, is undoubtedly 

 the typical bird ; in wild nature, however, the case is 

 very different, because the habit which makes this 

 pigeon so manageable by man, and so ready in com- 

 ing about his dwelling, is peculiar to itself, and, so far 

 as we know, not in the least partaken off by any of 

 the others. It must therefore have been the dove 

 which was sent out of the ark and returned again 

 with the olive branch ; for there is none of the rest 

 which would have returned, if it had once escaped 

 from a place of confinement. For these reasons, we 

 think that the rock-pigeon is better entitled to be 

 regarded as a separate section or subgenus than any 

 of the others, because it is distinguished not only by 

 a well-known habit, but by a habit which it never 

 loses, and which may be improved by training, of 

 which the carrier-pigeons afford a very remarkable 

 instance. As any one may observe, there is an ele- 

 vation of the frontal line, and an air of sagacity in 

 the head of the rock-pigeon, not to be observed in any 

 other member of the family, numerous as they are. 



Tl/c Jiiitgcd Pigeon is the most abundant species in 

 the groves and thickets of the cultivated parts of 

 Britain ; and, though it still retains as much of the 

 wild character as to resist every attempt at domesti- 

 cation, it seems to prefer artificial plantings in the 

 midst of rich fields of grain, leguminous plants, and 

 turnips, to those woods which the hand of nature 

 plants in the wilds. Accordingly it is rare in those 

 parts of the country where there is little cultivation ; 

 and its numbers increase always as improvement and 

 culture extend. It is one of the most interesting birds 

 of our groves, beautiful in its plumage, and soft and 

 melodious in the tones of its cooing. Every school- 

 boy is acquainted with the note of the cushat; and, if 

 we except the cuckoo, there are few birds which have 

 so many human imitators. 



It is not a bird of the colder latitudes, and cannot 

 brave the elements in such style as the rock-dove 

 when in the wild state. Its locality is therefore a 

 little farther to the south, though it does not appear 

 to reach nearly to the equator. The central and 

 southern parts of Europe appear to be its head- 

 quarter?, though the authorities mention it as ranging 

 from Siberia to Madeira. There is little probability 

 of its occurring to the southward of the African desert ; 

 and those parts of central Asia and Siberia which are 

 destitute of timber are also unsuited to its habits. 

 <.'<>pses broken by open spaces where the trees are 

 thick and shady, but not too lofty, are the places for 

 which it is adapted. Hence it would be vain to look 

 for it in the tangled and lofty forests of tropical coun- 

 tries, or on the wide plains seasonally burned up with 

 drought, with which those forests are interspersed. 

 It has not been found in America, and we should 

 suppose that there would be little use in looking for 

 it there. It is pre-eminently a European bird, sta- 

 tionary in many places, but migratory in a few, yet 

 not to any very great distance. In many parts of 



Britain its habits are in so far migratory, and there 

 may be said to be a general movement southward as 

 the winter sets in, and northward as the warm weather 

 begins to return. This, however, is not to be regarded 

 as the principal movement of these birds, their pro- 

 gress being from the colder parts of the same district 

 to the warmer ; and if the very early spring is mode- 

 rately mild, they speedily take their departure for the 

 groves, and commence the labours of the year. As 

 is the case with the whole family, they then disperse 

 in pairs, having congregated into considerable rlocks 

 during the winter, and flocks always the more nume- 

 rous the more completely that the severity of 

 the winter drives them from the woodlands. As is 

 the case with all birds which collect in rlocks during 

 the winter, and disperse in pairs during the breeding 

 season, the whole flock does not disappear at once, 

 but gradually melts away, according as the lands are 

 differently affected by "the genial influence of the 

 stimulating season. Being early breeders, they prefer 

 copses of firs and evergreen to those of deciduous 

 trees ; and the song of the male, if song it can be 

 called, does not begin till there is cover in which he 

 may be concealed. Previous to this, however, he 

 gives a very peculiar demonstration of his energy by 

 evolutions upon the wing, in the course of which he 

 bounds upward and plunges downward with great 

 rapidity, as if to convince his partner how well he is 

 able to bear his part in the maintenance of the family ; 

 and when he is to drop down in nearly a perpendicu- 

 lar direction, he dashes the tips of his powerful wings 

 against each other behind his back, with a very audi- 

 ble sound, and down he drops with motionless wing, 

 for a good many yards. The instant, however, that 

 the wings strike'downward, the length and power of 

 their stroke give him great buoyancy, and he shoots 

 upward with not a great deal more slope than that, 

 on which he descended. This peculiar kind of flight 

 is perceptible with lapwings and other species of 

 energetic birds, in the early part of the season, and 

 when nothing is disturbing or threatening them. 

 Therefore it may be considered as connected with 

 the pairing energy; but whether it tends to stimulate 

 that energy, or to exhaust the excess of it until the 

 nest is formed, it is impossible to say. When the 

 season advances so far, both birds betake themselves 

 to their cover, and the song is begun. This song is 

 very soft and plaintive, though it consists only of four 

 notes at the most. These notes are really in sub- 

 stance the repetition of a single note, but the first and 

 second are long, and the third and fourth short, and 

 the two notes of each time are varied by modulation. 

 Where there is a cover of evergreens, this song begins 

 in February ; and, while it is uttering, the songster is 

 rarely seen. Whenever the song begins it may be 

 understood that the construction or repairing of the 

 nest begins also. This is an operation which is short 

 in time, and by no means severe in labour. The nest 

 consists of a few twigs, loosely put together, and so 

 open that, if it can be got sight of, the eggs may be 

 seen by an obsener below. This circumstance indeed 

 occasions the loss of very many of the eggs, especially 

 of the first brood of the year. Sometimes they Jail 

 down, but more frequently they are observed by boys ; 

 and, as the kind of trees which the ring-dove prefers 

 can be climbed to the height of the nest by even a 

 very timid urchin, they are taken without mercy ; and 

 thus, though the ring-dove builds in so shadowy 

 places, perhaps more of its eggs are plundered, at 



