GALLINACE^:. 319 



The principal characters of the Order are, short, 

 broad wings, hollow on the under side ; a tail com- 

 posed of from fourteen to eighteen feathers ; robust 

 feet, the hind toe, when present, placed on a higher 

 elevation than the others; a bill short, strong, and 

 horny, arched above ; nostrils covered with a scale ; 

 a very large crop, and powerful gizzard. They are 

 scattered over the whole of the known world. 



Columbaf the Pigeon. 



Placed by Linnaeus with the Passeres, but now 

 by general consent admitted into the present Order, 

 the Pigeons may, in truth, be considered as oscu- 

 lant between the two. In many particulars they 

 differ both in structure and habit from these ; the 

 feet are comparatively small and slender, the toes 

 placed on the same level ; the wings are long, and 

 of powerful flight ; the tail composed of but twelve 

 feathers: they are dwellers upon trees, where they 

 seek their food ; though some are more exclusively 

 ground-birds, as the Crowned Pigeon, (C. Coronata,) 

 a large and magnificent bird of the East Indian Isles, 

 which shews a close alliance with some of the Curas- 

 sows. They are monogamous, each male attaching 

 himself with an affecting constancy to a single fe- 

 male : they build in trees or other elevated situ- 

 ations, and lay but two eggs. The young are fed 

 for some time with a milky secretion from the crop 

 of both parents. On the other hand the bill is 

 vaulted, the nostrils are scaled, and placed as in the 

 * Its ancient Latin name. 



