THE RING-DOVE. 



197 



Western or Temperate Europe contains four species of 

 the Pigeon tribe. 



The Ring-dove, or Wood-pigeon, the "Cushat" of our 

 poets, and the proverbial emblem of love and gentleness, is 

 the largest of our European pigeons ; a strong and hand- 

 some bird, with a small head, a short neck, and a large 

 full body. The beautiful blending and shifting tints of the 

 neck, as seen in different lio-hts, are fair to look at, and 



WOOD-PIGEONS. 



their iridescent appearance is commemorated in the fine 

 lines of the author of " Britannia's Pastorals," old William 

 Browne : — 



"Like to the changing colours that we see 

 About the dove's neck, for variety." 



It avoids open and uncultivated places, preferring the re- 

 pose of the leafy woodlands, where it nestles in the hedge- 

 rows, or among the spreading branches of the beech or 



