THE PIGEON. 33? 



Description Varieties. 



other on the covert; ihe back is white, and the 

 tail barred near the end with black. These a^e 

 the colours of the pigeon in a state of nature ; 

 and from these simple tints has man by art pro- 

 pagated a variety that words cannot describe, 

 nor even fancy conceive. Nature, however, still 

 perseveres in her great outline ; and though the 

 form, colour, and even the fecundity of these 

 birds may be altered by art, yet their natural 

 manners and inclinations continue invariable, and 

 undergo no change by any experiments made on 

 them. 



Pigeons have a weak slender bill, strait at the 

 base, with a soft protuberance, in which the nos* 

 trils are situated. The legs are short, and in 

 most of the species red, and the toes are di- 

 vided to the origin. Their voice is plaintive and 

 mournful. 



The varieties of the tame pigeon are so nume- 

 rous, that it would be a fruitless attempt to de- 

 scribe them all: for human art has so much 

 altered the colour and figure of this bird, that 

 by pairing a male and female of different sorts, 

 they can be bred almost to a feather. Both male 

 and female assist in feed ing their young. This 

 in most of the species, is done by means of a 

 substance not unlike a curd, and analogous to 

 milk in quadrupeds, that is secreted in their 

 crop. During incubation, the coats of the crop 

 are gradually enlarged and thickened. On com- 

 paring the state of the crop when the bird is not 



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