126 



HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



ing which she is employed in laying, continues 

 to hatch, relieved at intervals by the male. 

 The turns are usually regulated with great 

 exactness. From three or four o'clock in the 

 evening till nine the next day, the female 

 continues to sit; she is then relieved by the 

 male, who takes his place from ten till three, 

 while his mate is feeding abroad. In this 

 manner they sit alternately till the young are 

 excluded. If, during this term, the female 

 delays to return at the expected time, the 

 male follows, and drives her to the nest; and 

 should he in his turn be dilatory, she retaliates 

 with equal severity. 



The young ones, when hatched, require no 

 food for the three first days, only wanting to 

 be kept warm, which is an employment the 

 lemale takes entirely upon herself. During 

 this period, she never stirs out, except for a 

 few minutes to take a little food. From this 

 they are fed for eight or ten days with corn 

 or grain of different kinds, which the old ones 

 gather in the fields, and keep treasured up in 

 their crops, from whence they throw it up 

 again into the mouths of their young ones, who 

 very greedily demand it. 



As this method of feeding the young from 

 the crop is different in birds of the pigeon- 

 kind from all others, it demands a more de- 

 tailed explanation. Of all birds, for its size, 

 the pigeon has the largest crop, which is also 

 made in a manner quite peculiar to the kind. 

 In two of these that were dissected by a 

 member of the Royal Academy of Sciences, 



argument against the supposition, that many of the varie- 

 ties of the common pigeon, or of the domestic fowl, are 

 the result of a mixture of different species. 



The Ferruginous Ground Dove. This diminutive 



species, which only measures about six inches and a 

 quarter in length, is pretty widely distributed throughout 

 Brazil, Paraguay, and other districts of South America. 

 It lives in the open grounds, but generally near to the 

 confines of woods, as it roosts and breeds upon the lower 

 bushes or underwood, but never upon the larger trees, or 

 far from the ground. It is generally observed in pairs, 

 sometimes in families of four or six, but never associated 

 in large flocks. It appears to be of a tame disposition, 

 as it is seen constantly about the confines of the houses 

 or in the farm-yards, and readily admits of a near ap- 

 proach. Wagler observes, that, in Europe, it is easily 

 kept and propagated in the aviary. It is active upon 

 the ground, and feeds upon the smaller cerealia, berries, 

 &( (For the materials of this Note, we are indebted to 

 Mr Selhy's volume on Pigeons, in the Naturalist's 

 Library, Edinburgh, 1835.) 



it was found that if the anatomist blew air 

 into the wind-pipe, it distended the crop or 

 gullet to a prodigious size. This was the 

 more extraordinary, as there seemed to be no 

 communication whatever between these two 

 receptacles; as the conduit by which we 

 breathe, as every one knows, leads to a very 

 different receptacle from that where we put 

 our food. By what apertures the air blown 

 into the lungs of the pigeon makes its way 

 into the crop, is unknown; but nothing is 

 more certain than that these birds have a 

 power of filling the crop with air ; and some 

 of them, which are called croppers, distend it 

 in such a manner, that the bird's breast seems 

 bigger than its body. The peculiar mechan- 

 ism of this part is not well known ; but the 

 necessity for it in these animals is pretty ob- 

 vious. The pigeon, as we all know, lives 

 entirely upon grain and water: these are 

 mixed together in the crop ; and in the ordi- 

 nary way are digested in proportion as the 

 birds lays in its provision. But to feed its 

 young, which are very voracious, it is neces- 

 sary to lay in a store greater than ordinary 

 and to give the food a kind of half macera- 

 tion, to suit their tender appetites. The heal 

 of the bird's body, assisted by air, and nume 

 rous glands separating a milky fluid, are the 

 most necessary instruments for this operation : 

 but, in proportion as the food macerates, it 

 begins to swell also; and the crop must, of 

 consequence, be considerably dilated. Still, 

 however, the air which is contained in it 

 gives the bird a power of contracting it at 

 pleasure ; for if it were filled with more solid 

 substances, the bird could have no power to 

 compress it. But this is not the case, the 

 bird can compress its crop at pleasure ; and 

 driving out the air, can thus drive out the 

 food also, which is forced up the gullet, like 

 a pellet from a pop-gun. The young ones, 

 open-mouthed, receive this tribute of affection, 

 and are thus fed three times a-day. In feed- 

 ing, the male usually supplies the young 

 female, while the old female supplies the 

 young of the opposite sex. The food with 

 which they are supplied, is more macerated 

 at the beginning ; but as they grow older, 

 the parents give it less preparation, and at 

 last drive them out to shift for themselves. 

 When well fed, however, the old ones do not 

 wait for the total dismission of their young ; 

 but in the same nest are to be found young 

 ones almost fit for flight, and eggs hatching 

 at the same time. 



The fidelity of the turtle-dove is proverbial, 

 and makes the usual comparison of such poets 

 as are content to repeat what others have said 

 before them ; but the pigeon of the dove- 

 house is not so faithful ; and having been 

 subjected to man, it puts on licentiousness 



