The Pigeons. 
THE 
WOOD PIGEON. 
( Columba palumbus.) 
This hand- 
some bird is 
found in most 
parts of the 
British Islands, with the excep- 
tion of the north of Scotland, 
whither, however, it is gradually 
extending its range. It is found 
throughout Europe, and as far 
east as Central Asia. 
In the country the Wood- 
Pigeon is one the shyest of birds, 
and it is only in the autumn and 
winter, when they feed on the 
beech-mast, that they are seen in 
any numbers together. The large 
size of the species and the white 
marks on the side of the neck and 
the wing easily distinguish this 
Pigeon in flight. The nest is a 
platform of crossed sticks placed 
in a tree or bush. The eggs are two in number, pure white, and measure an inch- 
and-a-half to an inch-and-three-quarters in length. 
The range of the Stock-Dove is similar to that of the Wood- 
THE 
Pigeon, but it goes further to the eastward in Central Asia. 
STOCK-DOVE. o > to 
(Columba anas ) ^ ' s f° un d throughout the greater part of Great Britain, and is 
extending its range in Scotland and Ireland. 
The Stock-Dove differs from the Wood-Pigeon in its smaller size, and in the 
absence of the white patches on the neck and on the bend of the wing. It has also 
four spots of black on the wing, caused by the black bases to some of the inner 
coverts and secondary quills: these spots are absent in the Wood-Pigeon. Unlike 
the latter bird, the Stock-Dove nests in the hole of a tree or cliff, as well as in rabbit 
burrows. The nest consists of a few sticks or roots, and sometimes there is no nest 
at all, the two white eggs being laid at the bottom of the hole : the eggs measure 
about an inch-and-a-half in length. 
The Stock-Dove. 
The Wood-Pigeon. 
This bird is easily recognised by its white lower back and by 
the black bands across the wings. It is found throughout 
Europe to Central Asia and North-western India, and frequently 
crosses with domestic Pigeons, of which it is the parent stock. 
In Great Britain it is a local bird and nests in the sea-cliffs of the north of England, 
as well as in Scotland and Ireland. The nest is built on a shelf of rock in a cave or 
THE 
ROCK-DOVE. 
(Columba livia.) 
