482 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



same proportion. 206 small snails taken from one crop and seeds 

 of various weeds recorded. 



Distribution. — England and Wales. — Resident. Local but widely 

 distributed. In extreme north England has become resident and 

 increased since about 1870. Occasionally observed as immigrant 

 east coast. Scotland. — Resident. First definitely recorded as 

 nesting about 1877. Has spread rapidly since, and now breeds 

 throughout southern counties, and although not north of Clyde 

 area on west side, on east breeds as far north as Sutherland, where 

 first nest found 1889. To Caithness, Orkneys and Shetlands very 

 rare vagrant and unrecorded from Hebrides. Ireland. — Resident. 

 First recorded 1875, and first nest 1877, now breeds (increasingly) 

 in many parts Leinster and Ulster, and as far west as co. Galway. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Europe and western Asia, east to at 

 least Asia Minor and Transcaspia. Northern birds are migratory 

 and winter in Mediterranean countries, south to Algeria and 

 Marocco. According to Russian authors replaced by four sub- 

 species in Yarkand, north Persia, Tian-shan, and Ferghana, but 

 these are nearly all unknown to us and require confirmation, 

 Yarkand specimens in Brit. Mus. do not seem to be separable. 



COLUMBA LIVIA 



362. Columba livia livia Gm.- THE ROCK-DOVE. 



Columba livia (C. domestica B) Gmelin, Syst. Nat., i, ii, p. 769 (1789 — 



part. No locality stated ; we accepted in 1912 south Europe as the 



typical locality). 



Columba affinis Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, xiv, p. 862 (1845 — 



South England, varieties, probably crossed with domestic Pigeons). 



Columba Selbyi Reichenbach, Vollst. Naturg., Tauben, p. 56 (1862 — 



England. Based on pi. 12 in Selby, Nat. Libr., xix, Orn., Pigeons, where 



bad figure, probably due to artist's carelessness — see for example picture 



of C. cenas). 



Columba livia Gmelin, Yarrell, 11, p. 13 ; Saunders, p. 483. 



Description. — Adult male and female. Winter and summer. — 

 Crown, sides of head and chin grey-blue ; all round neck extending 

 from nape to upper -mantle and from base of ear -coverts and throat 

 to upper-breast metallic -green or purple according to angle of light, 

 but more purple than green on upper-breast ; mantle and scapulars 

 considerably paler and more ash-grey than crown, feathers very 

 narrowly edged duller grey ; back, extending to sides and upper- 

 rump white or greyish-white and occasionally very pale grey with 

 no pure white ; lower -rump and upper tail-coverts blue-grey rather 

 darker than crown ; under -parts slate-grey varying in shade, under 

 tail-coverts usually rather darker ; axillaries and under wing- 

 coverts white, but coverts along edges of wings slate-grey ; tail- 

 feathers broadly tipped brown-black, rest slate-grey, basal half of 

 outer web of outermost feather grey-white or white ; primaries 

 brown-grey on outer webs, tips darker and inner webs ash-grey, 



