CHAPTER XXV. 



THE PIGEONS AND DOVES. 



EVERY system of classification puts the pigeons and 

 doves Ln 

 an order 

 by [them- 

 selves, for 

 they are 

 distin- 

 guished 

 from a 1 1 

 other birds 

 bynotone, 

 but many, 

 family 

 features, 

 which can- 

 not be mis- 

 take n . 

 Their 

 beaks are 

 swollen 

 and soft at 

 the base, 

 but hard at 

 the point. 



Their eyes Turth Doves ' 



are large and lustrous, and set far back in the 

 head, which is small. Their bodies are compact 



