ROCK DOVE. ial 
Male; weight, eleven ounces; length, one foot one inch to 
one foot two inches; bill, dull brownish black, with a tinge 
of orange—it is much compressed about the middle both in 
depth and width; cere, brownish black in front, the hind 
portion white. Ins, pale orange; eyelids, reddish; head, 
crown, and neck on the back, dark bluish erey, the latter 
on the sides glossed with purple red, and green reflections, 
the former the: foremost; chin, ‘sling grey. Throat, purple 
and green, varying with the hght; breast, light greyish blue; 
back on the upper part, ight bluish grey, then bluish grey, 
and on the lower part white. 
The wings, which expand to the width of from two feet 
one inch to two feet three imches, have the first feather 
shorter than the second and third, which are nearly of equal 
length and the longest in the wing, the fourth much shorter 
than the first. Greater wing coverts, dull bluish grey, each 
with a black spot near the end forming a conspicuous black 
band; lesser wing coverts, hight bluish grey; primaries and 
secondaries, dull bluish grey on the outer web of the first 
and part of the second feather, and lighter on the inner, 
dusky towards the end; tertiaries, light. bluish grey tipped 
with black, and exhibiting a second conspicuous band of black; 
oreater and lesser under wing coverts, white. The tail, of 
twelve feathers, bluish grey for two thirds of its length, the 
shafts black, an inch of the end leaden black, the band thus 
formed widest in the middle; the outer web of the side 
feather is white as far as the black band. Upper tail 
coverts, dark bluish grey; legs and toes, carmine red, the 
former scaled in front, aud the latter on their upper surface; 
claws, brownish black. ‘The feathers of the body adhere 
loosely, and easily come off. 
The female is of less bright colours than the male. Length, 
one foot one inch, to one foot one inch and a half; the neck 
has less green. Extent of wings, from two feet one inch, to 
two feet two inches and a half, the black bars on these are 
shaded with grey, and their tips are tinged with brown. The 
tail has the tip also tinged with brown. 
The young are at first covered with yellow down. 
