cross-beams in an old church tower! The rock-dove haunts 
deep caverns worn out of the cliffs, both inland and on the 
coast. But one can never be certain that one is watching 
veally wild birds. Certain it is that most of the ‘ rock- 
doves”? one sees are domesticated birds run wild. This 
is the ancestor of our dove-cote birds, from some of which, 
those with a white rump and two black wing-bars, they 
cannot be distinguished. It is on account of this ancestry 
that our domesticated pigeons never alight in trees. They 
are inherently cliff dwellers. The turtle-dove is a summer 
visitor to the British Islands. The cinnamon-brown of its 
back, bluish ash-grey head, wing-coverts and rump, the patch 
of black on its neck, and the fan-shaped tail, tipped with 
white, readily distinguish it from the other three species just 
described. 
Where the summer holidays are spent by the sea—in 
places where there are no bands, piers, “‘ promenades,” and 
other abominations of “ civilization’? —one may spend 
6 
delicious hours watching some of our “ wading-birds.”’ On 
such parts of the coast as have a rocky shore one may be sure 
of finding the handsome oyster-catcher, a black-and-white 
_ bird, with a long red beak, and flesh-coloured legs. His 
loud, shrill “‘ wheep-wheep’’ seems to harmonize perfectly 
with his wild surroundings. His striking coloration, shrill 
note, and swift powerful flight, make confusion with any 
R 245 
