422 



The Plover-like Birds 



FIG. 141. Rock Dove, Columba 

 lima. 



part, while the wings are crossed by two black bars, and the tail by a single 

 broad terminal band. In the British Islands the Rock Dove is found along the 

 rock-bound coasts of Scotland, Ireland, and the south and east coasts of England, 

 and but rarely in any inland locality, although in Spain, Italy, and other parts 

 of continental Europe it is an inhabitant of mountainous districts. It nests 



in caverns and fissures in rocks, placing the nest 

 on a ledge, and " in its language, flight, and 

 habits it is indistinguishable from the bird 

 familiar to every one in a domestic state." 



The Indian Blue Rock (C. intermedia) differs 

 from the last mainly in having the lower back 

 gray. It is very abundant, frequenting culti- 

 vated country and feeding on grain and seeds 

 and nesting among rocks, old buildings, walls, and, 

 when unmolested, human habitations generally. 

 They are regarded as almost sacred and are 

 protected by the natives of India, both Hindus and Mohammedans. There 

 are several other closely related species, as C, gymnocydus in Senegal, C. 

 schimperi in Egypt and Palestine, and C. rupestris the Blue Hill Pigeon 

 in central Asia, while not far removed is the Stock Pigeon, or Stock Dove (C. 

 anas}. The latter is smaller than the Blue Rock, which it otherwise so much 

 resembles in flight and coloration as to be often mistaken for it. It may be 

 known by the plumage being bluish throughout. It ranges over Europe and 

 central Asia, being, for instance, not un- 

 common in many parts of the British 

 Islands. It is partial to woods, but is found 

 in various situations, and builds its nest in a 

 great variety of places, such as a hollow tree, 

 pollarded tops of trees, ledges on cliffs, where 

 it associates with the Rock Pigeons, and 

 finally in rabbit burrows or under dense 

 bushes. The nest is always slight and the 

 eggs two in number. There is also an 

 eastern representative of this species called 

 the Eastern Stock Pigeon (C. eversmanni), 

 which spends the summer in central Asia and 

 western Siberia and the winter in India. It is 

 smaller but does not otherwise differ greatly. 



Ring Dove. Very much larger and belonging to quite a different section 

 of the genus is the Wood Pigeon, or Ring Dove (C. palumbus), of Europe, ex- 

 tending as far east as northern Persia. The length is fully seventeen inches and 

 the plumage gray above and dull reddish purple or vinaceous below, with the 

 head bluish gray, the sides and back of the neck glossed with violet and green, 

 except for a small patch of white; the wings are also provided with white in 

 the form of a broad band. This species frequents cultivated and inhabited 



FIG. 142. 



Ring Dove, Columba 



palumbus. 



