19 



9 



various kinds, seeds of many species of wild plants, small shell-snails, &c. &c; and Dr. Saxby 

 says that during ten months of the year, when corn is not to be procured, it subsists chiefly on 

 the roots of the couch grass, Triticum repens, and the seeds of various troublesome weeds, such 

 as Sinapis arvensis, Eaphanis raphanistrum, Plantago maritima, and Capsella bursa-pastoris ; and 

 on account of the amount of these plants it destroys it certainly, to some extent, deserves a good 

 word from the agriculturist, though at the same time I cannot but acknowledge that, where it 

 can get it, it devours large quantities of grain. 



In general habits the Rock-Dove very closely resembles our domestic Pigeon, and is, 

 indeed, the stock from which the latter has sprung. Macgillivray gives (Brit. B. i. p. 273) so 

 excellent an account of its habits, that I cannot do better than transcribe his notes, as follows : — 

 " When searching for food they walk about with great celerity, moving the head backwards and 

 forwards at each step, the tail sloping towards the ground, and the tips of the wings tucked up 

 over it. In windy weather they usually move in a direction more or less opposite to the blast, 

 and keep their body nearer to the ground than when it is calm, the whole flock going together. 

 When startled they rise suddenly, and by striking the ground with their wings produce a 

 crackling noise. When at full speed they fly with great celerity, the air whistling against 

 their pinions. Their flight is very similar to that of the Ringed and Golden Plovers, birds 

 which in form approach very nearly to the Pigeon, as may be seen more especially on com- 

 paring their skeletons; and as this affinity has not been observed by any other person, I would 

 direct the attention of ornithologists to it. They usually alight abruptly when the place is 

 open and clear, and, if very hungry, immediately commence their search ; although on alighting 

 they frequently stand and look around them for a few moments. On other occasions, however, 

 they fly over the fields in circles, descending gradually. When flying from the rocks to the 

 places where they procure their food, and when returning in the evening, they do not mount 

 high in the air ; and when passing over an eminence they fly so low as almost to touch it. 

 When the wind is very high, and their course is against it, they fly in the same manner, taking 

 advantage of the shelter. It used to afford me much pleasure, and probably would be interesting 

 to most people, to observe from one of the wild headlands of Harris the Pigeons flying swiftly 

 and silently towards their homes, along the cliffs, while every now and then a string of Cormo- 

 rants, Gannets, or Guillemots would come up, and a straggling flock of Gulls pursue their route 

 in a desultory manner. 



"The note of the Rock-Dove resembles the syllables coo-roo-coo quickly repeated, the last 

 prolonged. It is monogamous, as I apprehend all wild birds, even the gallinaceous, are ; and its 

 nuptials are celebrated with much cooing and circumambulation on the part of the male. A 

 love-scene among the rocks is really an intei-esting sight. Concealed in a crevice or behind a 

 projecting cliff, you see a Pigeon alight beside you, and stand quietly for some time, when the 

 whistling of pinions is heard, and the male bird shoots past like an arrow, and is already beside 

 his mate. Scarcely has he made a rapid survey of the place, when, directing his attention to the 

 only beautiful object which he sees, he approaches her, erecting his head, swelling out his 

 breast by inflating his crop, and spreading his tail, at the same time uttering the well-known 

 coo-roo-coo, the soft and somewhat mournful sounds of which echo among the cliffs. The 



