198 THE ROCK-DOVE. 



pine ; sallying forth, with the first rays of the sun, to seek 

 its food, which consists of any kind of grain or seeds, or 

 even beech-nuts and acorns. It is less gregarious than the 

 rock-dove, but in the winter sometimes assembles in large 

 flocks ; though most naturalists suppose that the greater 

 number migrate to the warmer regions of Asia and Africa, 

 where their food is more abundant. Its nest is a rude 

 construction ; a few twigs loosely bent together. Here the 

 female deposits a couple of eggs of snowy white ; and here 

 you may listen to the soft notes of the tender parents as 

 they respond to each other in a deep and pleasant strain, 

 resembling the slow utterance of the two syllables coo roo^ 

 coo TOO. Clap your hands, and away they fly ; not, how- 

 ever, to any great distance from their nest, but wheeling 

 high in the air, and circling round and round, until such 

 time as they deem it safe to returii to it. 



The Rock-dove, the parent of our domestic pigeons, is 

 very A^ddely distributed, and occurs in all the temperate 

 parts of the Old World. 



As far north as the "stormy Orcades," in the craggy 

 isles of the Hebrides, along the rock-bound coast of northern 

 Scotland, and elsewhere on our island-shores, is found the 

 rock-dove. It frequents the hollows and caverns, where it 

 builds a rude nest of twigs, gi^ass, and weeds. It lives 

 upon all kinds of seeds and grain, and often wings its way 

 a considerable distance inland in order to obtain a supply 

 of food. Its young are easily tamed, when taken early 

 from the nest. 



Our domestic pigeons bear a close resemblance in their 



