228 



VERTEBRATA. 



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THE STOCK-DOVE. 



THE EOCK-DOVE. 



in all colors, but is often mottled with blade and white. It is a good breeder. The Tumbler, 

 whicli derives its name from the fact that it overbalances itself in its flight, is almost as large as 

 the stock-dove. Its beak is short, and the naked circle of the ej^c is red. The Jacobine-Pigeon 

 is a small bird, with a short beak, and having at the top of the neck a collar or stripe of long 

 feathers. In color it resembles the shield-pigeon. The Peacock or Fan-tailed Pigeon is like the 

 swallow-pigeon in color, but has the power of spreading out its tail like a peacock. The Pcrri- 

 wigged Pigeon resembles the veiled pigeon in color, but has a high forehead, a short beak, and a 

 crest, which passes down the sides of the neck and breast like a wig. The Pouter is a large 

 pigeon, of various colors. It has a high forehead, a short beak, and possesses the power of inflat- 

 ing the crop to a very large size. The Turkish Pigeon is a large bird, of various colors, which 

 has the membrane of the beak, as well as the circle of the eyes, very thick and wrinkled. 



The Carrier-Pigcon is supposed by some to be a distinct species, though it is generally regarded 

 as a variety of the house-dove. All the tribes of pigeons are not only swift of flight, but they have 

 an intense love of home, and a remarkable power of discovering their way home from long 

 distances. These capacities are possessed in a high degree by the carrier, and hence it has 

 been celebrated from the remotest antiquity. Anacreon immortalized it as the bearer of epistles. 

 Pliny mentions its use by beleaguered cities. When Modcna was invested, he says : " Of what 

 avail were sentinels, circumvallations, or nets obstructing the river, when intelligence could be 

 conveyed by aerial messengers ?" In the time of the Crusades these birds were extensively cm- 

 ployed by the people of the invested cities ; and there are instances mentioned in which the 

 pigeon was captured by the besiegers, and made the bearer of a very different message from that 

 with which it was originally charged. In some cases hawks were kept by the besieging parties! 

 for the express purpose of being flown at and intercepting the carriers. These birds have been 

 also used for the purposes of commerce as well as those of war. When the Turkey Company of \ 

 England was flourishing, and a number of English merchants were resident at Aleppo, the grand it 

 emporium of the trade, carrier-pigeons were employed to bring intelligence from the port to the 

 city. Scanderoon, the port of Aleppo, is distant about eighty miles, as the bird flies. The pigeon i 

 could bring intelligence over this distance in about three hours, while it could not come l)y any] 

 other channel in much less than the same number of days. Thus, those merchants who em-j 



