152 PIGEON SHOOTING. 



with the increase of population and the increasing per- 

 secution to which they are subjected. Not a third of the 

 numbers, that formerly flocked our woods and forests, 

 are now seen. But incalculable as their aggregate 

 amount seemed to be with us some sixty years since, 

 it is small, indeed, to that spoken of in America, 

 the passenger pigeon of that country darkening the 

 air for miles, when the flocks are on the wing ; and 

 when they settle, breaking down, from their num- 

 bers, the very forests on which they rest. The Rock- 

 dove, or White-rumped pigeon, is the staple that has 

 supplied so much theme for the poet and the histo- 

 rian, as the messenger of the lover and the politician. 

 The " Tumbler" and the "Carrier" pigeons are two of 

 the fancy breeds of this species, remarkable for a 

 deviation of structure from the original type. Their 

 heads and bills are in proportion, the former shorter, 

 and the latter longer, than in their original. 



The Turtle-dove (Turtur migratorius). This 

 pigeon is smaller and more slender than the true 

 pigeon, and its tail is not nearly so ample, but gra- 

 duated. It occurs in Kent and Hertfordshire, in 

 some of the northern counties, and in Scotland and 

 Ireland : it appears to be more frequent in the 

 wooded parts of Kent than elsewhere in England, 

 but its visitation with us is altogether rare. Sir W. 

 Jardine speaks of a specimen shot in the garden at 

 Jardine Hall : " The bird had frequented a break 

 of peas, nearly ripe, for several days, and at last 

 attracted the notice of the gardener, as one not pre- 



