WOOD-PIGEON. 37 i 



Scotland and Ireland, wherever suitable caves occur. The nest is placed on a 

 ledge or in a crevice of the rock in a cavern where little light penetrates. 



Another British species is the stock-dove (C. etnas'), often con- 

 fused with the rock-dove, which it resembles in size and general 

 colour, although distinguished by having the rump grey instead of white. This 

 pigeon is especially common in the southern and eastern counties of England, and 

 large flocks may be seen feeding in the fields, frequently in company with wood- 



Stock-Dove. 



WOOD-PIGEON AND STOCK-DOVE (J nat. size). 



pigeons. The places chosen by this bird for a nesting-site are varied. It frequently 

 breeds on open ledges in the face of a steep cliff (never in caves), and in rabbit- 

 burrows where the soil is light and sandy, or under the shelter of dense furze. 

 Numbers of nests are placed in trees, a favourite situation being among the dense 

 bunches of twigs surrounding the stems of old elms. 



The third and largest British species is the wood - pigeon 

 ( C. palumbus), recognised by the broad white patch on each side of 

 the lower part of the neck as well by its variously tinted breast and the white 



Wood-Pigeon. 



