THE PIGEON. 



123 



most branches of the forest, and choose their 

 habitation as remote as possible from man. 

 But this species soon takes to build in artificial 

 cavities ; and, from the temptation of a ready 



versa. When first excluded, the young are blind, their 

 skin of a blue or livid colour, thinly covered with a harsh 

 yellow down. In this tender state they are long and as- 

 siduously brooded over by the parent birds, and are fed 

 with a milky pulp, ejected from the crop, where the food 

 undergoes a partial digestion, preparatory to its being 

 given to them. As they gain strength and become 

 fledged, food is more frequently supplied, and, con- 

 sequently, from its not remaining so long in the craw of 

 the old bird, in a less and less comminuted form, till at 

 length, previous to their finally quitting the nest, it is 

 administered in a state but little altered from that in 

 which it is first swallowed by the old birds. 



The Ring Pigeon breeds twice in the year, viz. in 

 spring, and again in autumn, a cessation taking place 

 during the greater part of June and July, being a period of 

 comparative scarcity, the seeds of such plants as they 

 principally subsist on not having then ripened or attained 

 perfection. The autumnal brood, on account of the more 

 effectual concealment of the nests by the now matured 

 and thick foliage of the woods, is always more abundant 

 than that of spring, and, in favourable districts, great num- 

 bers annually escape. In certain seasons, the young pro- 

 duce in autumn are subject to a peculiar disease, which des- 

 troys many of them even after they have quitted the nest. 

 It appears in the form of large swellings or impostumes, 

 upon the feet and head, which, rapidly increasing, at 

 length deprives them of sight and the power of perching, 

 and they perish upon the ground, emaciated by hunger 

 and disease. This complaint, for many years past, has 

 been observed in the northern districts of the kingdom, 

 but whether it prevails to an equal extent in other parts, 

 we have had no opportunity of ascertaining. The flesh 

 of both young and old is of good flavour, that of the latter 

 being little inferior to the moor-game or grouse, which it 

 is thought by many to resemble in taste. This, however, 

 can only be said of it, so long as the bird derives its sup- 

 port from the stubbles, or the produce of the forest ; for 

 as soon as a deficiency of their food compels it to resort 

 to the turnip field, the flesh becomes imbued so thorough- 

 ly with the strong flavour of the plant, as no longer to be 

 fit for the table. Though the Ring Pigeon frequently 

 approaches our habitations during the breeding season 

 in search of a site for its nest, and almost seems to court 

 the vicinity of man, it always evinces a timorous disposi- 

 tion, and is startled arid alarmed by the slightest motion 

 or noise. In the winter, and when congregated, it be- 

 comes still more impatient of approach, and is then one 

 of the most wary and watchful of the feathered race. 



Various attempts have been made to domesticate the 

 Ring Pigeon, but hitherto without success, for although 

 they may be rendered very tame when in confinement, 

 they show no disposition to breed even by themselves, 

 much less with the common pigeon, and upon being set 

 at liberty, soon lose any little attachment they may have 

 shown to the place in which they were reared, and betake 

 themselves to their natural haunts to return no more. 



The Wood Pigeon till of late years, by most of our 

 writers, was confounded with the rock pigeon, the 

 original stock of our common pigeon, or at least had its 

 history so mixed up with the descriptions of that bird, 

 as to render its individuality and specific distinction a 

 matter of considerable doubt. Brisson appears to have 

 been the first who accurately pointed out the distinctions 

 between the two, and he has since been followed by 

 Temminck, who, in his general history of the pigeons, 

 and his excellent and useful Manual of Ornithology, had 

 so clearly marked its distinctive characters, and des- 

 oibed its habits, as to render it almost impossible 



provision and numerous society, easily submits 

 to the tyranny of man. Still, however, it 

 preserves its native colour for several genera- 

 tions, and becomes more variegated only in 



even for a very tyro to confound or mistake the one with 



ill<l .lilluf 



the other 



Like the previously described species, it is indigenous, 

 but its distribution is much more limited in extent, 

 being confined to the southern and midland counties of 

 England, and to such districts only as are well clothed 

 with wood ; for, possessing arboreal habits, it is never 

 found inhabiting those localities affected by the Columba 

 livia (rock pigeon,) such as the caverns of rocks, ruin- 

 ous edifices, &c. During the spring and summer, it is 

 distributed in pairs throughout the woods, where it breeds, 

 sometimes in the decayed hollows of the ivy-mantled 

 trunks, at others on the forks or amidst the higher bran- 

 ches of the trees. The nest is similar to that of the ring 

 pigeon, and its two white eggs, though inferior in size, 

 present the same oblong form. Two broods are annually 

 produced, the first in spring, the second after midsum- 

 mer, a period of rest or recruiting of the vital forces tak- 

 ing place between the end of May and the middle of 

 July. As autumn advances, the various broods begin 

 to congregate, and soon form flocks of great magnitude, 

 which continue assembled during the winter, and are 

 sometimes seen commingled with bodies of their larger 

 congener, the cushat. In parts of France, Germany, 

 and the northern kingdoms of Europe, it is a migratory 

 species, and a summer or polar visitant, the late autumnal 

 and winter months being passed in warmer latitudes, 

 where a due supply of food can then be found. In dis- 

 position it shows a timidity and watchfulness equal to 

 that of any other species, particularly during the winter 

 months, when associated in troops. Its food consists of 

 grain of all kinds, pulse, acorns, beechmast, &c., and 

 like the cushat, when pressed by hunger, it frequently 

 resorts to the turnip fields to devour the tender leaves 

 and tops of that plant. Its flesh by Temminck is said 

 to be of exquisite flavour, and far superior to that of the 

 ring pigeon, but this perhaps may only be at certain pe- 

 riods, and when feeding upon some peculiar food. 



Near as it approaches the common pigeon in size and 

 form, no mixed breed that we are aware of has ever been 

 obtained between them, although repeated attempts to 

 effect an intercourse have been made. This in our 

 mind appears a strong and convincing proof, that all the 

 varieties, generally known by the name of Fancy Pigeons, 

 have originated from one and the same stock, and not 

 from crosses with other species, as some have supposed, 

 the produce of which, even could it be occasionally obtained 

 we have no doubt would prove to be barren, or what are 

 generally termed mules. 



The Biset or Wild Rock-Pigeon. Rocky and precipi- 

 tous cliffs, particularly those of the sea-coast perforated by 

 caverns, either originating in the nature of the rock itself, 

 or worn and hollowed out by the action of the waves, are tho 

 appropriate retreats of the pigeon in its wild or natural 

 state. In this condition it possesses a very extensive 

 geographical distribution throughout the maritime tik* 



