Tit/. HOCK-DOVE. I \; 



birds -:in chautre ih.-ir places freely ; Inn in the cn.se of the wooden cotes, the sj>are in very 

 limited, :iinl I In- \t-iitil:itiiiit almost i.duc.-d to a millin. \erinin. I<M., s \\arm in such places, 

 and the birds sho\\ (hate good MOW in getting away from so unli--altli\ a -.iiii.iiii.n. Tin- rotes, 

 should always U> well cleaned at intenaK ami the ownei \\ill In- repaid b\ the health and 

 rapidly increasing numU>r of his birds. 



In a domesticated state, although it is better t< feed them at home and so keep them from 

 8tr.iv in:;, tln-y \\ill always forage f<ir themselve> ami vomit: without any assistance, a Hi-lit <f 

 ten miles or so being a mere not him; to tin-.- MI-MIH: wiuired birds. Indeed, tin- Pi-eons that 

 inhabit tin- lla-ue an- known to cross the sea aa far as the coast of Norfolk for the sake of 

 feeding on the vetches. 



The color of the Uock-I>ove is as follows: The head is gray, and tin- neck of the same 

 color, but "shot" with purple and gn-en. The chin is blue-gray, and the throat . chautreable 

 gre-u and purple. The up|-r Mlfsoe of the body is also gray, but of a different tone; the 

 greater coverts are barred with black at their tip, formiu.tr a decided band across the wing; 

 the tertials are also tipj>ed with black, and another black Iwind crosses the wing a little below 

 the lirst -mentioiu-d bar. These conspicuous black bars are difficult to enulicate from tin- 

 domestic breeds, and are always apt to make their appearance most unexpectedly, and annoy 

 the fancier irn-atly. The lower jwirt of the back is pure white, the upper tail-coverte are pearl- 

 gray, and the breast and abdomen of the same hue. The total length of this bird is not quite 

 a foot. 



From this stock, the varieties that have been reared by careful management are almost 

 innumerable, and are so different in appearance that if they were seen for the first time, 

 almost any systematic naturalist would set them down as belonging not only to different 

 species, but to different genera. Such, for example, as the pouter, the jacobin, the trumjieter, 

 and the fa mail, the last-mentioned bird having a greater number of feathers in its tail than any 

 of the others. 



As this work is not intended to be of a sporting or "fancy" diameter, a description of 

 the various fancy Pigeons cannot be given. But the "homing" faculty of this bird, and tin- 

 list 1 to which it has been put, is too important to be passed over without a notice. 



It has long been known that Pigeons have a wonderful power of finding their home, even 

 if taken to great distances, and the mode by wliich the birds are enabled to reach their 

 domiciles has long been the object of discussion, one party arguing that it is an instinctive 

 operation, and the other, that it is entirely by sight. In my opinion the latter party have 

 the better of the argument, though perhaps the element of instinct ouirht not wholly to- 

 be omitted. I have been told by those who have hunted on vast plains, where no object 



MTWasa iruide. that tl :i!\ \\:i> to L.-.-I -a!".-l\ back i> to s.-t nil" <>n tin- liom--\\aid track 



without thinking about it, for that when a man begins to exercise his reason, his in-tiiK t 

 faiN him iu proportion, and unless he should be furnished with a compass, he will probably 

 be lost. 



Still, that the sense of sight is the principal element cannot, 1 think, be denied. For in 

 training a bird, the instructors always take it by degrees to various distances, begiiiniii.tr with 

 half a mile or so, and ending with sixty or seventy miles in the case of really good birds, 

 which will travel from London to Manchester in four hours and a half. In foggy w. -ather the 

 birds are often lost, even though they have to pass over short distances, and when a heavy 

 fall of snow has obliterated their landmarks and iriven the country an uniform \\liit.- coating, 

 they are sadly troubled in finding their way home. The fancy Carrier Pigeon, with the large 

 wattles on the ! -aid to l>e no very pxxl mes^-mrer. the t miners preferring tin- !' lirian 



bird, with its short l>eak, round head, and broad sh-nild- 



It is a curious, but a well ascertained fact, that the accuracy of Pip-on flight dejiends 

 much on the ] M .ints of the comjwiss. although each individual bird may have a different 

 idiosyncracy in this n-j - bin Is. for example, always fly best in a line nearly north 



and south, while otln-rs prefer east and west as their line of flisrht. This remarkable pro- 

 MS to indicate that tin- birds an- much intlin-no-d by the .-li-ctric or matriietic currents 

 i-otitiuually traversing the earth. \Vli--n starting from a distance to reach their home, these 



