POULTRY TRIBE. 235 



brought the olive-branch to the ark of Noah ; for 

 which she has her place among the constellations 

 of heaven ; and the dove, in mystic emblem, 

 shadows forth the Comforter, the Holy Ghost." 



There are some qualities peculiar to them, which 

 seem to justify this interest. Pigeons of all kinds 

 are supposed to be especially faithful in their loves. 

 The pair evince a mutual attachment and fidelity, 

 which (notwithstanding their disposition to flock) 

 we have reason to believe they preserve through 

 life. Their apparent fondness for each other, 

 manifested by saluting with their bills, and 

 murmuring (or cooing) notes of pleasure ; their 

 habits in tending their young ; combined with the 

 beauty and grace of their appearance, and the soft 

 plaintive sound of their voices, all unite to give 

 them a special interest to the lover of nature, and 

 are suggestive of innocence, purity, and tender- 

 ness. Accordingly, we find that doves were 

 sacred among the priests of antiquity ; and in the 

 present day the same feeling in favour of these crea- 

 tures is observable in many countries. A writer 

 in the fourth volume of " The Naturalist," says, 

 " The common pigeon swarms in the city of Peters- 

 burg and the country : it is esteemed sacred, and 

 called God's bird by the Eussians, from the cir- 

 cumstance of the Holy Spirit assuming that form 

 when descending upon our Saviour. To kill and 



