. Natural history. For the use of schools and families. Zoology. 166 NATUEAX HISTOET. r. disposed to make the Pigeon tribe an. order by them- selves. The Pigeons are very remarkable for their mode of feeding their young. The crop is double, forming two pouches, one on eithfer side of the gullet, as represent- ed at a and h in Fig. 135. Now, while the bird is in- cubating, a curious change takes place in the crop, and for a special purpose. Ordi- narily it is thin and smooth, as seen at a; but when the bird is about to have young to care for, the crop be- comes thick and full of lit- tle lumps,
. Natural history. For the use of schools and families. Zoology. 166 NATUEAX HISTOET. r. disposed to make the Pigeon tribe an. order by them- selves. The Pigeons are very remarkable for their mode of feeding their young. The crop is double, forming two pouches, one on eithfer side of the gullet, as represent- ed at a and h in Fig. 135. Now, while the bird is in- cubating, a curious change takes place in the crop, and for a special purpose. Ordi- narily it is thin and smooth, as seen at a; but when the bird is about to have young to care for, the crop be- comes thick and full of lit- tle lumps, as represented at h. These lumps are glands, that have now become en- larged, in order to perform their duty of pouring a milky fluid into the crop. The object of this is to soften the food, so that, when this is done, the bird may throw it up out of the crop and give it to its young. It is sin- gular that the same change takes place in the male bird; and both parents, therefore, engage in feeding their oif- spring. The most conspicuous varieties of the domestic Pigeons are seen in Fig. 136 (p. 167). That large Pig- eon, the Pouter, is able to inflate its crop with air so as almost to hide its head behind it, and it seems to be quite vain of this accomplishment. 273. This family are found in almost every part of the globe, and in some they multiply to an enormous extent. The most remarkable in this respect is the Piissfenger Pigeon of this country. " The associated numbers of wild Pigeons," says Nuttal," are without any other par- allel in the feathered race; they can, indeed, alone be compared to the shoals of herrings, which, descending Fig. 135.—Pigeon's Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Hooker, Worthington, 1806-1867. New York, Harper & Brothers
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1883
