THE TAME PIGEON. 
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THE TAME PIGEON. ( Columba livia .) 
Passing over the common barn fowl and the partridge, 
pheasant, quail, and grouse, we come to the common tame 
Pigeon, as a specimen of the genus Columba , of which there 
are many species. The tame Pigeon is well known as to 
the shape, but the colour varies so much, that it eludes the 
rules of classification. They prefer a gregarious life, and 
abide often, to the number of five or six thousand, in a cot 
purposely built for them in the neighbourhood of a farm- 
yard, with proper holes to nestle in. The female Pigeon, 
through the whole species, lays two eggs at a time, which 
produce generally a male and a female. It is pleasing to 
see how eager the male is to sit upon the eggs, in order 
that his mate may rest and feed herself. The young ones, 
when hatched, require no food for the first three days, 
warmth is their only nourishment; they are then fed from 
the crop of the mother ; who has the power of forcing up the 
half-digested peas which she has swallowed to give them to 
her young. The young ones, open-mouthed, receive this 
tribute of affection, and are thus fed three times a day. 
ILLUSTRATIVE ANECDOTE. 
There are upwards of twenty varieties of the domestic 
Pigeon, and of these the Carriers are the most celebrated. 
They obtain their name from being sometimes employed to 
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