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to brown ; irides pale orange ; head and neck bluish 

 grey, the sides of the latter shining with green and 

 purple reflections ; shoulders, upper part of the back 

 and both sets of wing-coverts French-grey ; all the 

 greater coverts with a black bar near the end, 

 forming a conspicuous black band extending out- 

 wards and forwards to the edge of the wing ; primary 

 and secondary quill-feathers bluish- grey ; the tertials 

 French-grey, tipped with black, and with a con- 

 spicuous band of black below the black band on the 

 coverts, the light-coloured band on the great wing- 

 coverts intervening between the two dark bands ; 

 lower part of the back pure white ; rump and upper 

 tail-coverts pearl-grey; tail-feathers twelve, of two 

 colours, the basal two-thirds pearl-grey, with dark 

 shafts, the ends lead-grey; the chin bluish grey; 

 the throat purple and green; breast and all the 

 under surface of the body pearl-grey ; under wing- 

 coverts and axillary plume white ; legs and toes red- 

 dish orange ; the claws brown. The females are not 

 quite so large as males, and their colours generally 

 less brilliant. Young birds in their first or nestling 

 plumage, before their autumnal moult, may always 

 be distinguished from the young of the Stock Dove 

 by the broad patch of pure white on the lower part 

 of the back." I have taken this description from 

 Yarrell, as I have not a Eock Dove in my collection, 

 but I may add that some of the tame Pigeons do not 

 differ, even in the most minute particulars, from it. 



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