THE TURTLE DOVE. 69 



That genus, or division of the family, which compre- 

 hends the Doves and Pigeons properly so called, is 

 distinguished from the others by the slenderness and 

 flexibility of the bill, accompanied by a slight enlarge- 

 ment towards its point ; the comparative shortness of 

 the legs ; and the greater length of the wings. It may 

 be further subdivided with reference to the equality of 

 the quill-feathers composing the tail, or to their regular 

 graduation in the form of an elongated cone. These 

 birds usually take up their abode in the woods, building 

 high upon the branches or in the hollow trunks of the 

 loftier trees. They approach the Insessorial Order in 

 their habit of perching both day and night ; but bear a 

 marked resemblance to the more typical of the Galli- 

 naceous tribes in the nature of their food and their 

 manner of taking it. Unlike most of the latter, how- 

 ever, they are eminently migratory, and generally pass 

 the winter in more southern climates ; the strength of 

 their wings enabling them to accomplish in a very short 

 space of time flights of almost incredible extent. 



With the exception of the Domestic Pigeon and its 

 innumerable varieties, the Turtle Dove is probably the 

 best known of the group. It is also the most widely 

 disseminated ; spreading itself over all the countries of 

 the Old Continent, with the exception of the most 

 northern, from France and England on the west, to 

 China on the east, and the Cape of Good Hope on 

 the south. It generally arrives in England about the 

 middle of May, and quits us towards the end of August 

 or the beginning of September, as soon as its young 

 are in a condition to accompany it in its migration to 

 the south. It builds its nest in the most retired and 

 solitary places, and generally in the neighbourhood of 

 water. This nest is formed in the simplest manner of 

 small branches entwined together so loosely as to leave 

 openings between them through which the eggs may 



