1845.] Drafts for a Fauna Indica. 861 



many of them feed much on the ground, chiefly on grain and oleaginous 

 seeds ; some of the species also nipping the young sprouts of vegetables. 

 They fall into two principal and nearly allied series, those of the pigeons 

 and the doves ; the latter subdividing into several well marked groups. 



Genus COLUMBA, Lin. (as restricted). Pigeons. (Kubbooter, H. ; 

 Pair a, B.) 



These are of comparatively large size, and generally more robust in 

 make, with square or subquadrate tail. The Indian species fall into two 

 subgenera, viz. — rock pigeons, and wood pigeons : the former exempli- 

 fied by the common house pigeon, the latter by the common Cushat of 

 Europe. 



Rock Pigeons. In these, the tarse is rather longer, and the toes are 

 better adapted for walking on the ground. They rarely, if ever, perch 

 on trees, except under peculiar circumstances, as when a dove-cot of 

 domestic pigeons is placed near a tree, with large and conveniently shaped 

 boughs, in which case the pigeons will commonly resort to the latter to 

 sit and roost, but never to form their nests. In the wild state, it is 

 probable that they never perch at all; retiring to roost and nestle in 

 caverns and small hollows of rocks or sea- cliffs, in the absence of which 

 they select buildings that offer suitable recesses, breeding in the capitals 

 of pillars, and whatever other convenient nooks they find. Hence, 

 when unmolested, these house pigeons soon become familiarized with 

 man, and require little encouragement to merge into the domestic con- 

 dition. 



C. intermedia, Strickland, An. and Mag. N. H. 1844, p. 39 : 

 C. anas of India, Auctorum : C. anas, var., from Tartary, Wagler. 

 (Jalalaya, H. ; Parwa, Mahr. ; Golah, of the pigeon- dealers.) (Indian 

 Rock Pigeon.) The common wild blue pigeon of India is most closely 

 allied to the European C. livia, but is of rather a deeper slaty-grey, with 

 invariably a deep ash- coloured rump ; whereas C. livia has, as constant- 

 ly, a pure white rump : there appears to be no other distinction between 

 them ; unless it be that the play of colours on the neck is finer in the In- 

 dian bird. The same difference in the colour of the rump is observable in 

 the domestic pigeons of the two countries, whenever these tend to assume 

 the normal colouring ; for the tame Indian pigeons are as clearly derived 

 from the wild C. intermedia, as those of Europe are from C. livia. 



Colour slaty-grey, darker on the head, breast, upper and lower tail- 

 coverts, and tail, which last has a blackish terminal band not well 



5 Y 



