WOOD PIGEON— ROCK DOVE 129 



almost continuously. In colour it is a charming bluish- 

 grey or purplish-grey, with darker shades of purplish- 

 red upon the wings. The eye is a deep rich red. The 

 legs are long and heavily scaled. An even more beau- 

 tiful species, perhaps, is the Victoria Crowned Pigeon, 

 but it does not thrive well in captivity. See Plate 23, 

 Fig. 136. 



The Wood Pigeon, also called Ring Dove, is a 

 European species, measuring about seventeen inches 

 in length. The female is hardly distinguishable from 

 the male, being very little smaller and rather duller in 

 colour. The white patch on the neck is a conspicuous 

 mark. Of late years this bird has become very com- 

 mon in London parks, where it is said to show not the 

 slightest fear of man, though in the open country very 

 shy and wary. See Plate 22, Fig. 132. 



The Stock Dove is often confused with the follow- 

 ing species — the Rock Dove — ^but it may always be 

 distinguished from it by the absence of the patch of 

 white above the tail. It has somewhat increased in 

 Europe of late years, and shows a marked preference 

 for wooded districts. Rabbit burrows, holes in trees, 

 and matted ivy are chosen as nesting-sites by these 

 birds. See Plate 22, Fig. 181. 



Perhaps the most interesting of the Pigeon family 

 is the Rock Dove, since it is probably the ancestor of 

 all our domesticated races. Readily distinguishable 

 by the double black bar across the wings and the white 

 patch on the lower part of the back, this bird is to be 

 found only in a truly wild state where caves or deep 

 fissures in rocks exist. It is a common bird in Scot- 

 land and is met with abundantly on the west cdast of 



