626 BIRDS. 



name, Columba, from their voice or cooing : and had he knowrn 

 it, he might have added the British, &c. for K'lommen, Kylolu 

 mart) Kulm and Kolm 9 signify the same property and same bird. 

 They were, and still are, in most parts of our island, in a state 

 of nature ; but probably the Romans taught us the method of mak- 

 ing them domestic, and constructing pigeon.houses. Its character, 

 in the state nearest that of its origin, is a deep bluish ash-colour ; 

 the breast dashed with a fine changeable green and purple ; the sides 

 of the neck with shining copper colour ; its wings marked with two 

 black bars, one on the coverts of the wings, the other on the 

 quill-feathers. The back white, and the tail barred near the end 

 with black. The weight fourteen ounces. 



In the wild state it breeds in holes of rocks, and hollows of 

 trees, for which reason some writers stile it columba cavernalis, 

 in opposition to the ring dove, which makes its nests on the boughs 

 of trees. Nature ever preserves some agreement in the manners, 

 characters, and colours of birds, reclaimed from their wild state. 

 This species of pigeon soon takes to build in artificial cavities, and 

 from the temptations of a ready provision becomes easily domesti- 

 cated. The drakes of the tame duck, however they may vary in 

 colour, ever retain the mark of their origin from our English 

 mallard, by the curled feathers of the tail ; and the tame goose 

 betrays its descent from the wild kind, by the invariable whiteness 

 of its rump, which they always retain in both states. 



Multitudes of these birds are observed to migrate into the south 

 of England ; and while the beech woods were suffered to cover large 

 tracts of ground, they used to haunt them in myriads, reaching in 

 strings of a mile in length, as they went out in the morning to 

 feed. They visit us the latest of any bird of passage, not appear- 

 ing till November, and retire in the spring. I imagine that the 

 summer haunts of these are in Sweden, for Mr. Eckmark makes 

 their retreat thence coincide with their arrival here. But many 

 breed here, as I have observed, on the cliffs of the coast of Wales, 

 and of the Hebrides. 



The varieties produced from the domestic pigeon are very nume- 

 rous, and extremely elegant; these are distinguished by names 

 expressive of their several properties, such as tumblers, carriers, 

 jacobins, croppers, pouters, runts, turbits, owls, nuns, &c. The 

 most celebrated of these is the carrier ; which, from the superior 

 attachment that pigeon shews to its native place, is employed in 



