3i4 
THE LIVING WORLD. 
DOVES AND PIGEONS (Columbae). 
Unlike the preceding order, the family enumerated under the general classifi¬ 
cation Columbce is a large one, with representatives in all parts of the world, 
whose progenitors were no less important birds 
than the great dodo , which perished forever nearly 
two hundred years ago. The dodo was once very 
numerous on the island of Mauritius, but was 
never widely distributed over any mainland. It 
was a very large bird, weighing quite fifty 
pounds, and so clumsy and slow in its move¬ 
ments, and building its nest upon the ground 
wherein but a single egg was deposited, that 
when hogs were introduced on the island they 
soon devoured the birds and destroyed their nests. 
Thus it was that the dodo became speedily extinct 
parrot dove. through those ravages. 
Pigeons and doves are distinguished for their plumpness of body and strength 
of wing; though generally they are desti¬ 
tute of brilliant plumage, there are several 
species in the tropics clothed in the richest 
raiment, almost rivalling the sun-birds. They 
usually build their nests on low branches, 
and lay two eggs of pure white. Doves 
rear only a single brood each year, but 
pigeons of the domestic variety lay and 
hatch every month save March, so that they 
may be reckoned as being the most prolific 
of birds. They do not feed their young like 
other birds, but are provided with a double 
gullet, in which the food taken is mixed 
with a secretion that reduces it to a pulpy 
consistency, which the female has the power to raise again into the mouth, 
and which she parts with to the young. 
The Turtle Dove (Turtur auritus) is 
the most familiar of the genera, on account 
of its prevalence in all parts of the United 
States, where it is regarded with a kindly 
feeling, because of the soft and mournful 
notes it utters during the breeding season. 
The Crested Dove (Ocyphaps lophotes ) 
is a native of Australia, and distinguished 
alike for its exquisite plumage and the long, 
pointed crest with which its head is adorned. It 
is gregarious, going in immense flocks, whose 
actions seem to be controlled by a leader. 
crested dove. The Bronze Wing (O. chalcoptera ) is 
also a very beautiful Australian species, 
but rarely more than two are to be seen together, excent at watering-places, 
where, in the evening, these birds congregate in large numbers. 
TURTLE DOVE. 
