RASORES. 455 



belongs to Asia, and it is asserted that it was really brought to 

 Europe from Colchis by the Greeks; hence its specific name. 

 The common Fowl is certainly not a native of Europe, and it is 

 almost as certainly a native of Asia or of some of the Asiatic 

 islands ; but its exact original habitat is uncertain, as is the 

 species from which the domestic breeds are descended (com- 

 monly said to be the Gallus Bankiva of Java). The introduc- 

 tion of the Fowl into Europe is lost in the mists of antiquity, 

 and it is wholly unknown whence the original stock may have 

 been brought. The Pea - fowl (Pavo) are really natives of 

 Thibet and Hindostan, and were originally brought to Greece 

 by Alexander the Great. They were formerly much esteemed 

 as food, but are now regarded merely from an ornamental 

 point of view. There are many other forms belonging to the 

 Gallinaceous section of the Rasores, but these are in every way 

 the most important. 



The second sub-order of the Rasores is that of the Columbacei 

 or Gemitores, comprising the Doves and Pigeons, and often 

 raised to the rank of a distinct order under the name of Co- 

 lumba. The Columbacei are separated from the more typical 

 members of the Rasores by being furnished with strong wings, 

 so as to endow them with considerable powers of flight. In 

 place, therefore, of being chiefly ground-birds, they are to a 

 great extent arboreal in their habits, and in accordance with 

 this the feet are slender, and are well adapted for perching. 

 There are four toes, three in front and one behind, and the 

 former are never united towards their bases by a membrane, 

 though the base of the outer toe is sometimes united to that of 

 the middle toe. Lastly, they are all monogamous, and pair 

 for life, in consequence of which fact, and of their being readily 

 susceptible of domestication, they present an enormous number 

 of varieties, often so different from one another that they 

 would certainly be described as distinct species if found in a 

 wild state. It seems certain, however, that all the common 

 domestic breeds of Pigeons, however unlike one another, are 

 really descended from the Rock-pigeon (Columba livia), which 

 occurs wild in many parts of Europe, and has retained its dis- 

 tinguishing peculiarities unaltered for many centuries up to the 

 present day. Finally, the young of the Columbacei are born in 

 a naked and helpless state, whilst those of the Gallinacei are 

 " precocious," and can take care of themselves from the mo- 

 ment of their liberation from the egg. 



Of the various living birds included in this section, the true 

 Pigeons (Columbida) are too well known to require any de- 

 scription; but the Ground-pigeons (Gouridte) depart to some 



