248 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



lining ashy-whitish ; bill vinous slate-colour, inclining to white 

 on the cere ; feet red ; iris orange-red. Total length, 13 

 inches; oilmen, 075 ; wing, 8 95 ; tail, 3-9; tarsus, 1-15. 



Adult Female. Similar to the male, but somewhat smaller. 

 Total length, 12*5 inches; wing, 8*3. 



Young. Differs from the adult in its more dingy coloration, 

 and in the pale fringes to the wing-coverts. The metallic 

 colour on the neck and chest is almost entirely absent, these 

 parts being dusky slate colour ; the lower back is white as in 

 the adults. 



Characters. The white on the lower back at once dis- 

 tinguishes the Rock-Dove from the Wood-Pigeon and the 

 Stock Dove. Like the latter it has no white patches on the 

 sides of the neck, which are metallic ; but instead of the four 

 black spots on the wing-coverts, the wing is crossed by a 

 black band across the greater coverts. There is a second 

 black band, in both species, formed by the ends of the 

 secondaries ; but in the Rock-Dove the innermost secondaries 

 are crossed with a black band, whereas in the Stock-Dove 

 these quills resemble the back, and only two of them show a 

 black spot on the outer web. 



Range in Great Britain. The Rock-Dove breeds in a wild 

 state on the cliffs of Scotland and the Orkneys and Shetlands, 

 and its range can be traced from Devonshire and Cornwall, 

 where it is very local, along the west of England and Wales, 

 but on the east coast of England it is only found on Flam- 

 borough Head, and in Northumberland. Mr. Ussher says that 

 it breeds in the sea-cliffs nearly all round Ireland. 



Range outside the British Islands. Count Salvadori says that 

 the range of the Rock-Dove extends throughout the Western 

 Palaearctic Region, eastwards to Sind, Cashmere, and some 

 parts of India. In many countries it crosses with the 

 domestic Pigeon, and varies considerably in plumage in con- 

 sequence, so that several supposed species have been named 

 upon these differences. It seems to be nowhere very common in 

 Europe, excepting, as Mr. Saunders points out, in mountainous 

 regions, such as the Pyrenees and the various ranges of Spain 

 and Ita'y- 



