THE ROCK DOVE. 19 



his tail, at the same time uttering the well-known coo-roo-coo, the soft and some- 

 what mournful sounds of which echo among the cliffs. The female, shy and 

 timorous, sits close to the rock, shifting her position a little as the male advances, 

 and sometimes stretching out her neck, as if to repel him by blows. The male 

 continues his strutting and cooing, until the female, inadvertently coming upon 

 the edge of the shelf, flies off to the dark recesses of the neighbouring cave, where 

 she has scarcely alighted when her lover is again by her side. 



" Matters go on in this manner, and in the meantime a nest is gradually 

 formed, which consists of withered stalks and blades of grass or other plants, not 

 very neatly arranged, but disposed so as to answer the intended purpose. Two 

 beautiful white eggs, of an elliptical form, one an inch and four-twelfths in length, 

 an inch and one-twelfth in breadth, the other a little shorter, are then deposited, 

 and in due time the young make their appearance. In about three weeks the 

 young come abroad, and after being fed and instructed by their parents for some 

 days, are left to shift for themselves. 



" The old birds soon repair their nest, and rear another brood. I cannot speak 

 with certainty as to the precise number of broods raised in the course of a season, 

 but I know that there are at least two. The first eggs are laid about the middle of 

 April, and the latest young are seen about the end of September. It appears to 

 me probable, from circumstances which have come under my observation, that the 

 same nest is used for different broods ; and it is commonly believed, and not 

 improbable, that these birds pair for life. The young are fed by their parents, 

 who, applying their open mouth to that of the nestling, the mandibles of which 

 enter the pharynx, force up the food from their crop, so as to be within reach of 

 the bill of the young, which all the while flaps its wings, and utters a low cheep- 

 ing note, indicative of its eagerness to have its wants supplied. 



" There can be no reasonable doubt that the Eock Dove is the original of our 

 domestic pigeons, in fact the true Stock Dove, although that name has been given 

 to another species. Individuals of the domesticated race which cannot be distin- 

 guished from those of the wild, are of common occurrence ; and, however highly 

 varieties may be prized, the blue, white-backed race is certainly the most beautiful. 

 I have seen in the Hebrides a few house-pigeons which had deserted and lived 

 among the wild doves. In various places along the east coast of Scotland, as 

 at the Cove, near Aberdeen, at Dunottar Castle, near Stonehaven, and the Bass 

 Eock, in the Firth of Forth, I have observed wild pigeons among the rocks. 

 Some of them presented the pure unvarying tints of the Eock Dove, while others 

 were of different shades of blue or purple. These were in all probability domestic 

 pigeons that had run wild, and their descendants. The best places for studying 

 the habits of the species, or for procuring specimens, are the islands of Lewis, 

 Harris, Uist, Barray, Skye, the northern coasts of Scotland, the Shetland and 

 Orkney Islands. 



" The hoys in the Outer Hebrides often attempt to rear young doves, but their 

 cares are seldom continued long enough. They introduce the food, dry barley 



