Chap. I. DOMESTIC PIGEONS. 23 



the English carrier, the short-faced tumbler, the runt, 

 the barb, pouter, and fantail in the same genus ; more 

 especially as in each of these breeds several truly- 

 inherited sub-breeds, or species as he might have called 

 them, could be shown him. 



Great as the differences are between the breeds of 

 pigeons, I am fully convinced that the common opinion of 

 naturalists is correct, namely, that all have descended 

 from the rock-pigeon (Columba livia), including under 

 this term several geographical races or sub-species, which 

 differ from each other in the most trifling respects. As 

 several of the reasons which have led me to this belief 

 are in some degree applicable in other cases, I will here 

 briefly give them. If the several breeds are not varieties, 

 and have not proceeded from the rock-pigeon, they must 

 have descended from at least seven or eight aboriginal 

 stocks ; for it is impossible to make the present domestic 

 breeds by the crossing of any lesser number : how, for 

 instance, could a pouter be produced by crossing two 

 breeds unless one of the parent-stocks possessed the 

 characteristic enormous crop ? The supposed aboriginal 

 stocks must all have been rock-pigeons, that is, not 

 breeding or willingly perching on trees. But besides 

 C. livia, with its geographical sub-species, only two or 

 three other species of rock-pigeons are known ; and these 

 have not any of the characters of the domestic breeds. 

 Hence the supposed aboriginal stocks must either still 

 exist in the countries where they were originally domes- 

 ticated, and yet be unknown to ornithologists ; and this, 

 considering their size, habits, and remarkable characters, 

 seems very improbable ; or they must have become 

 extinct in the wild state. But birds breeding on preci- 

 pices, and good fliers, are unlikely to be exterminated ; 

 and the common rock-pigeon, which has the same habits 

 with the domestic breeds, has not been exterminated 



