172 GARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS. 



birds give the young the grain almost at once, merely 

 keeping it in their crops till they have got enough of it. 



Grain of various kinds is, as everyone knows, the 

 favourite food of most Pigeons, but as they cannot always 

 get it, they eat a good deal of green food and a few small 

 snails as well. A good many species, however, are fruit- 

 eaters, and never touch grain. These have stouter beaks 

 .and shorter shanks than the grain-eating Pigeons. 



Pigeons are strong fliers, and use their powerful wings 

 in fighting, their beaks being so weak, although 

 they can do each other a good deal of harm with them if 

 too closely confined. For, in spite of their reputation 

 for gentleness, they are inveterate fighters in a petty 

 nagging way. To birds other than their own family, 

 however, they are usually quite harmless. This makes 

 them very desirable as aviary birds, for they can be 

 kept with birds of other families smaller than themselves. 

 They breed very readily in confinement, and are easier 

 to manage than any other birds ; both parents sit and 

 feed the young, and need no special food when breeding. 



It is, however, in most cases almost impossible to tell 

 the cock from the hen, as their plumage is exactly simi- 

 lar ; the young are rather different in many cases. 

 The actions of the cock when courting are very interest- 

 ing and differ much in the different groups. 



Pigeons are not usually migratory, and are most 

 numerous in a hot climate ; there are many wild species 

 in India, of which only a few can be noticed here. In ad- 

 dition to the common domestic Pigeon, which is descend - 

 .ed from the wild Blue Rock Pigeons of Europe and 



