368 THE TURTLE-DOVE, 
wing, just as the finest breeds of lop-eared rabbits will now and then produce 
upright-eared young. 
The Rock-dove derives its popular name from its habit of frequenting 
rocks rather than trees, an idiosyncrasy which is so inherent in its progeny, 
that even the domestic Pigeons, which have not seen anything except their 
wooden cotes for a long series of generations, will, if they escape, take to 
rocks or buildings, and never trouble themselves about trees, though they 
should be at hand. 
This species seems to have a very considerable geographical range, for it 
is common over most parts of Europe, Northern Africa, the coasts of the 
Mediterranean, and has even been found in Japan. 
From this stock, the varieties that have been reared by careful managc- 
ment are almost innumerable, and are so different in appearance that if they 
were seen for the first 
time, almost any 
systematic naturalist 
would set them down 
as belonging not only 
to different species, 
but to different genera. 
Such, for example, as 
the pouter, the jacobin, 
the trumpeter, and the 
fantail, the last-men- 
tioned bird having a 
greater number of fea- 
thers in its tail than 
Y any of the others. 
THE world-famed 
TURTLE-DOVE is, al- 
though a regular visi- 
tor of this country, 
better known by fame 
and tradition than 
by actual observation. 
GROUP OF PIGEONS. This bird has, from 
classic time until the 
present day, been conventionally accepted as the type of matrimonial per- 
fection, loving but its mate and caring for no other until death steps in to part 
the wedded couple. Yet it is by no means the only instance of such con- 
jugal affection among the feathered tribes, for there are hundreds of birds 
which can lay claim to the same excellent qualities, the tierce eagle and 
the ill-omened raven being among their number. 
The Turtle-dove seems to divide its attention pretty equally between Africa 
and England, pausing for some little time in Southern Italy as a kind of 
half-way house. It arrives here about the beginning of May, or perhaps a 
little earlier in case the weather be warm, and after resting for a little while, 
sets about making its very simple nest and laying its white eggs. The nest 
of this bird is built lower than is generally the case with the wood-pigeon, 
and is usually placed on a forked branch of some convenient tree, about ten 
feet or so from the ground. The eggs are laid rather late in the season, so 
that there is seldom more than a single brood of two young in the course of 
the year. 
The Turtle-dove may be readily known by the four rows of black feathers, 
tipped with white, which are found on the sides of the neck. 
