Chap. I. 
DOMESTIC PIGEONS. 
27 
species of pigeons to breed freely under domestication; 
these supposed species being quite unknown in a wild 
state, and their becoming nowhere feral; these species 
haying very abnormal characters in certain respects, as 
compared with all other Columbidee, though so like in 
most other respects to the rock-pigeon ; the blue colour 
and various marks occasionally appearing in all the 
breeds, both when kept pure and when crossed ; the 
mongrel offspring being perfectly fertile;—from these 
several reasons, taken together, I can feel no doubt that 
all our domestic breeds have descended from the Co- 
lumba livia with its geographical sub-species. 
In favour of this view, I may add, firstly, that C. livia, 
or the rock-pigeon, has been found capable of domestica¬ 
tion in Europe and in India; and that it agrees in habits 
and in a great number of points of structure with all 
the domestic breeds. Secondly, although an English 
carrier or short-faced tumbler differs immensely in cer- - 
tain characters from the rock-pigeon, yet by comparing 
the several sub-breeds of these varieties, more especially 
those brought from distant countries, we can make an 
almost perfect series between the extremes of structure. 
Thirdly, those characters which are mainly distinctive of 
each breed, for instance the wattle and length of beak 
of the carrier, the shortness of that of the tumbler, and 
the number of tail-feathers in the fantail, are in each 
breed eminently variable; and the explanation of this 
fact will be obvious when we come to treat of selection. 
Fourthly, pigeons have been watched, and tended with 
the utmost care, and loved by many people. They have 
been domesticated for thousands of years in several 
quarters of the world; the earliest known record of 
pigeons is in the fifth Egyptian dynasty, about 3000 B.C., 
as was pointed out to me by Professor Lepsius; but 
Mr. Birch informs me that pigeons are given in a bill 
c 2 
