BIRDS. 67 



peas, vetches, rape-seed, — but seeds of many weeds 

 as well {e.g. those of charlock, vetchling, spurry, 

 cleavers). When the earth is covered with snow it 

 often eats cabbage and the leaves of winter rape, but 

 is also of some service. 



2. The Turtle Dove {G. turtur) occurs on the edges 

 of woods, especially those consisting of coniferous 

 trees. Nests in the trees. For food, use, and harm, 

 cp. the preceding species. Steals buckwheat grains 

 from the fields. 



3. The Rock Pigeon {0. livia) is the original stock 

 of our races of domestic pigeons. It nests, as a resi- 

 dent, in the Mediterranean countries ; as a migrant, on 

 the rocky parts of the coasts of Great Britain a.nd the 

 Orkneys, Shetlands, and Faroe Islands. 



Order: Rasores (Poultry). 



Body strong, thick-set. Head small, often with 

 naked, brightly coloured patches, with fleshy combs 

 or with a crest of feathers. Tip of the upper beak 

 bends over that of the lower one. No cere (cp. 

 Doves). Wings short, rounded ; flight heavy. Feet 

 strong. Hinder toe small and usually attached to 

 the tarsus higher up than the front toes. Claws 

 blunt. A small web at the bases of the toes. The 

 male of several species bears a spur on the tarsus. 

 Birds of this order usually keep on the ground, 

 scraping it in search of their food, which consists of 

 seeds, berries, the green parts of plants, insects, worms, 

 and snails. Young precocious (p. 51). Several domestic 

 birds belong to the Rasores : pheasants, the various 

 races of fowls, pea-fowls, guinea-fowls, turkeys. 



The species living wild in Britain are game-birds. 

 They are — the Capercailzie (Tetrao urogallus. Fig. 

 40), Black Game {T. tetrix). Partridge (Perdix cinerea), 

 ftuail (P. coturnix) ; none of them are particularly 

 harmful or useful to agriculture. 



