CLASS II. AYES: ORDER 4. COLUMBJS. 
225 
THB ElNG-DOViS, 
ORDER 4. COLUMBiE. 
These resemble tlie gallinaceous birds, and some authors have included them in the same order ; 
in their structure, however, there are some peculiarities. The oesophagus speedily widens into a 
large crop, situated on both sides of the alimentary canal, which, during the breeding season, is 
furnished with numerous glands for the secretion of a milky juice; this, mixing with the food in 
the crop, softens it so as to render it more fit for the nourishment of the young birds, which are 
fed for a considerable time with food regurgitated by their parents. The gizzard is very powerful, 
the intestine long and slender, and the coeca small. 
The Columbse, in general, are arboreal in their habits, but most of them seek their food on the 
ground, and they all, notwithstanding the shortness of their legs, walk with ease and considerable 
celerity. Their wings are long and wide, and their flight, as might be expected, is strong and 
sustained. In their mode of drinking they differ remarkably from all other birds ; for, instead of 
taking up a small quantity of water in the mouth, and then swallowing it by raising the head, 
they immerse the bill in the water, and drink without stopping until they are satisfied. The pig- 
eons generally nestle in trees or in the holes of rocks; rarely on the ground. The young, when 
hatched, are quite helpless, and require to be fed carefully by their parents for some time, during 
which they remain in the nest. The duty of incubation, and the care of the young, is shared by 
both parents. These birds are found in all the warm and temperate parts of the globe, but it is 
in the warmer regions that they occur in the greatest abundance. There, also, many of the spe- 
cies attain a splendor of plumage which rivals almost any thing else that we meet with among 
the feathered inhabitants of the air, and of which our native species, although by no means defi- 
cient in beauty, can give us no idea. Everywhere the dov^es are regarded with more or less 
favor, doubtless owing in a great measure to their reputation for conjugal fidelity, and the pecu- 
liarly melancholy sound of their voice, which is universally a plaintive cooing. These characters, 
coupled with the continual exhibition of all the signs of a most tender affection between the sexes 
during the breeding season, induced the ancients to consecrate the dove to Venus. In many 
Christian countries, also, the dove is regarded as sacred, because under its form the Holy Spirit 
is described as having descended upon our Saviour at his baptism. 
THE DIDUNCULID^. 
This family includes only a single genus, DIDUNCULUS, and a single species B. sirigirostriSy 
found in the Navigators' Isles. They are the size of a ruffed grouse ; upper surface chestnut-red ; 
Vol. II.— 29 
