120 



291. The Collared Turtle, or Laughing Dove, so frequently kept in cages, is not a 

 native of England ; their colour is a pule brown or buff, with a black ring round the 

 neck, the flight feathers are darker, and the tail feathers are tipped with white, like the 

 preceding. There is also a quite white variety of this sort. These Doves are also 

 arboreal, but if carefully managed, when first let out, may be easily kept at liberty. 

 Still it must be borne in mind that a bkd that has been long confined becomes be- 

 wildered on its first liberation, and soon drops from exhaustion, when it becomes an 

 easy prey, or loses its home through having strayed too far. 



292. The best food for these Doves is buckwdieat, wheat, or canary-seed. They 

 will, however, eat almost any seed, or small corn, but too much hempseed is very in- 

 jurious, causing them from over-fatness to loose their feathers, or otherwise become uu- 

 healthy. 



THE EOCK PIGEON. 



293. The Rock Pigeon, or wild Blue Rock, is a bird of which almost everyone has 

 heard, nevertheless it is very scarce ; but at first starting it will be best to make it plain 

 to my readers what Pigeon I mean, because two others are also commonly called Rocks. 

 The Stock Dove, that builds in the stocks or boles of trees, is frequently mistaken for 

 the Blue Rock, which it somewhat resembles, but from which it is quite distinct. There 

 are three varieties of Doves to be found in our woods, namely, the Ring Dove, or Quest, 

 the Stock Dove, and the Turtle Dove, but these are quite distinct in habits and manners 

 from the Pigeon. 



294. Again, the common Chequered (''Dappled") Dove House Pigeon, that gen- 

 erally peoples our Dove-cotes is frequently called a Rock, and should such be taken 

 from the rocks, they are naturally supposed to be the true Rock Pigeon, for, in many 

 parts of the country there are immense ferol or escaped flocks of these ; although, in 

 every sense of the word, wild, are not the real Blue Rocks. Having thus far said what 

 it is not, it now remains for me to say what the Rock is : it is a rather small Blue 

 Pigeon, and very shy ; it builds its nest on cliffs, in the clefts of rocks, and caverns, 

 and is generally supposed by naturalists to be the stock whence our tame Pigeons are 

 derived. Their general plumage is blue, two black bars cross the wings, the tail is also 

 barred with black near the end, the rump is white and the neck glossy — the beak is 

 long, Dove-shaped, and of a dark horn colour ; the front of the head is rather full, the 

 eye, round, prominent, and of a gravelly red colour, the neck is slender, and the feet 

 red ; they are very shy, and shun the hauuts of man, I have never seen any of them 

 domesticated, but believe they might be, if taken young. The Rev. E. S. Dixon gives 

 an instance of their being settled in an old Dove-cote, and further stated he had occa- 

 sionally procured young ones, but that they always flew away when old enough ; they 

 nestle in the most iaaccessible rocks and cliffs, and I believe rarely produce but three 

 pairs of young in a season ; they find their food abroad in the fields, in search of which 

 they are said to take long journeys ; they feed on almost any sort of grain or seed ; 

 they devour an immense quantity of the seeds of weeds, and they eat also some sorts 

 of herbage. 



295. A cross between the Blue Rock, and the common Blue Dragon Pigeon makes an 

 excellent Pigeon for flying matches or performing long journeys ; but from the scarcity 

 and wildness of the former, few persons have the opportunity of trying it. 



AVOOD PIGEONS. 



296. I notice in the "Poultry Chronicle" of Febniary 7th, that one of the subscri- 

 bers appears to be a declared enemy of these handsome birds. I gather so from his 

 statement, that 937 grains of wheat, besides 94 tares, were found in the crop of one 

 bird. I do not for one moment deny that statement ; but I think that the writer would 

 alter his opinion if he were more intimately acquainted with these birds, and he would 

 find how very great is their utility at other periods of the year, when they cannot get at 

 the com. 



297. Perhaps I cannot do better than refer your readers to " Mr. St. John's Wild 

 Sports of the Highlands," a very nice edition of which is to be found in " Murray's 

 Home and Colonial Library." They will there find a very good account of the habits 

 of the Wood Pigeon ; and Mr. St. John particularly mentions his beine spectator (with 



