natural history. 
52 
the tame pigeon in a dove-house, yet, as soon as they could 
ny, they always betook themselves to the woods where thev 
■were hist produced. J 
There are a variety of foreign birds, which belong to the 
pigeon species, but none of them arc remarkable enough to 
reepure insertion m this abridgment, except that whidi is 
denominated by Edwards the large crowned pigeon of the 
hast Indies. I hough as large as a turkey, this bird evi- 
dently belongs to the pigeon species. It has the beak, the 
head, the legs, the form, the voice, and manners of this spe- 
cies It is a native of the Isle of Banda. There appears 
no distinction between the males and the females, and the 
lattei do not lay m these cold climates. 
Ill g lesser crowned pigeon is also a native of India. It 
is the size of a common pigeon. The head and neck of this 
bird are black; the back, rump, and tail is a deep green ■ 
the breast and belly violet, and the crest a gilded redf 
T ," R T r' , 1 TL r D0Vl: S 3 s,nalle ''’ bl,t a much shyer bird 
than any of the former It may easily be distinguished from 
the rest by the iris of the eye, which is of a fine yellow and 
by a beautiful crimson circle that encompasses the eve-lids 
1 he fidelity of these birds is noted : and a pair being put in 
a cage, if one dies, the other will not survive it. The turtle 
Hovo „ bin! of ,„ d fe „ or „„„ 
Tl,e y If flock* when the, 
come to breed here in summer, and delight in open, moun- 
ta.nous sandy countries. They build their nests in the midst 
of woods; but may yet be tamed, and even brought to pro- 
pagate in dove-houses like the tame pigeon, and several va 
r.eties are produced m this artificial existence. They will 
even pair with pigeons, and thus produce a mixed one. 
Among the foreign birds of this species, the most remark- 
able is the ground turtle, or small turtledove, of St Do 
mingo It is not above the size of the common crested'lark 
or a little better than six inches long. The upper parts of 
wkh brown 6 a r t '' COlOU n d ’ tUe . l0Wer P arls ■’eddish spotted 
wit i brown. It is excellent eating, and on this account, and 
for its size, it has acquired the name of ortolan, being nearly 
about the same weight as the European ortolan ° ' V 
