said to occur on passage in the last-named country. M. Adrien Lacroix says that some few are 

 sedentary in the French Pyrenees ; but the larger proportion of those which are found there are 

 birds which pass and repass on their way to and from their northern breeding-stations. 



In Portugal, according to Dr. Rey (J. f. O. 1872, p. 153), it breeds abundantly in the 

 numerous cliffs and in the caves and crannies in the mountains on the coasts of the southern 

 provinces, but it is rare near inhabited places, and, he remarks, there are no domestic Pigeons 

 kept in that country. In Southern Spain, Mr. Saunders writes (Ibis, 1871, p. 223), "Abundant 

 on the rocky east coast and in all mountain-ranges, this species swarms to an almost incredible 

 extent in the mountains at the back of the Sierra Nevada. When winding through the dreary- 

 ravines between Baza and Lorca, vast flocks kept pouring down to their feeding-grounds from 

 sunrise to about 8 a.m. ; and we estimated the number which passed quite near to us as about 

 seven thousand, without noticing more distant bands. Each flock was invariably led by a white 

 or piebald bird." It is common near Gibraltar ; and Mr. Savile Reid informs me, " Wild birds 

 come down from the cliffs on the north and east sides of the Rock of Gibraltar to pair with the 

 domesticated ones in the dove-cotes below, especially at the kennels of the Calpe Hunt, where I 

 have seen them. The strangers were rather shy." 



According to Von Homeyer it is very abundant on the rocky coasts of the Balearic Isles, 

 but never appears to occur in the interior ; and in Italy it is resident and very abundant in the 

 Campagna, along the coast of Tuscany, and in the Apennines. In other parts of the country it 

 is said to be a migrant ; but Salvadori does not think that this is the case. Iu Sicily and Sardinia 

 it is very abundant. Bonaparte described what he supposed to be a distinct form, from Italy, 

 under the name of Columba turricola ; but, so far as I can ascertain, his bird is a mere variety 

 of the Rock-Dove or of half-wild birds. Baron E. de Selys Longchamps, referring to this 

 supposed species, writes (Ibis, 1870, p. 453): — "Throughout my travels I everywhere collected 

 information respecting the Columba turricola of Bonaparte — a species which, according to him, 

 is very common in the old ruined towers of Tuscany, and differs from Columba livia in that the 

 rump is not white above, but bluish, as in Columba osnas. The naturalists of Turin, Milan, and 

 Florence whom I have consulted, do not recognize it, or regard it as an accidental variety of the 

 half-wild Columba livia crossed with tame Pigeons. I examined a specimen in the Museum at 

 Pisa ; and Professor Savi is now inclined to the opinion I have just expressed." According to 

 Mr. Wright (Ibis, 1864, p. 137) the Rock-Dove is " sedentary in the rocks and precijDices of the 

 southern coast of Malta and Gozo, and on the rocky island of Filfla, where it breeds in con- 

 siderable numbers. The young birds fly in June, when (the Quail-season being over) the sports- 

 men amuse themselves by pursuing them in boats. In July their numbers get pretty well 

 thinned ; probably a good many then leave us, owing to the difficulty of finding a sufficiency of 

 food. As examples of escaped domestic Pigeons are to be seen breeding in the same localities, 

 crosses doubtless often occur." In Southern Germany the true wild Rock-Dove appears to be 

 rare; but semidomestic birds, or those which have become wild, are found in some localities. 

 I never observed any on the Danube; but Messrs. Elwes and Buckley say (Ibis, 1870, p. 201), 

 " Rock-Pigeons are found all up the Turkish coast of the Black Sea, and probably in other 

 localities. The only specimen we got was shot in the harbour of Sevastopol ; and it resembled 



