BRITISH BIRDS. 315 



habits of Pigeons are well known, no birds being 

 more universally diffused. Having a powerful 

 wing, they are enabled to perform very distant 

 journies ; accordingly, wild and tame Pigeons 

 occur in every climate, and although they thrive 

 best in warm countries, yet with care they suc- 

 ceed also in very northern latitudes. Their man- 

 ners are gentle and lively; they are fond of 

 society, and have always been held emblematic 

 of peace and innocence; they are faithful to their 

 mates, whom they solicit with the softest cooings, 

 the tenderest caresses, and the most graceful 

 movements. The exterior form of the Pigeon is 

 elegant : the bill is weak, straight, and slender, 

 and has a soft protuberance at the base, in which 

 the nostrils are placed, the point is somewhat 

 curved: the legs are short and red, and the toes 

 divided to the origin. They moult once, and the 

 sexes do not differ in plumage. 



