. Reptiles and birds : a popular account of their various orders, with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting . from danger. They run perfectly,but fly badly, and are sedentary \ lastly, some species have cephalicnudities and fleshy appendages, or long, movable feathers round theneck, like the male of the Domestic Fowl. Physically they are charac-terised by a slight and straight beak and by rather high tarsi. Thisfamily comprises a very large number of species spread throughoutCentral and South America, the isles of the Indian Ocean, and agreat part of Africa. The comp
. Reptiles and birds : a popular account of their various orders, with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting . from danger. They run perfectly,but fly badly, and are sedentary \ lastly, some species have cephalicnudities and fleshy appendages, or long, movable feathers round theneck, like the male of the Domestic Fowl. Physically they are charac-terised by a slight and straight beak and by rather high tarsi. Thisfamily comprises a very large number of species spread throughoutCentral and South America, the isles of the Indian Ocean, and agreat part of Africa. The compass of this work will not permit us toexamine all; we will merely mention the most remarkable, the CrownedPigeon, or Goura (Goitra corofiafa, Fig. i6i) very common in New THE RING-DOVE. 423 Guinea and the Moluccas. The plumage of this bird is of a beautifulgreyish blue ; its head is ornamented with a pretty plume of straight,long, and tapering feathers ; it is about the size of a Domestic Fowl,and very highly esteemed for the qualities of its flesh; consequentlythe inhabitants of the above islands raise it in their Fig. 161.—Crowned Pigeon. COLOMBES. Colombes have slender beaks, long wings, and short tarsi. Theprincipal species are the Ring-dove, Stock-dove, Rock-dove, DomesticPigeons, Turtle-doves, and Migratory Pigeons. The Ring-dove or Wood-guest {Cohunbapalumbcs)^ are the largestspecies of this family ; their plumage is slaty grey, with bluish, green,and rose-coloured reflections. They are spread throughout all Europe,excepting the snowy regions of the North. They are very commonin France, where they arrive in numerous flocks early in March,generally departing in October or November. The Ring-doves orCushats, as they are also called, inhabit forests, and delight amongthe branches of large trees. They feed upon acorns and beech-nuts,and are very partial to cherries and strawberries. With the farmersthis bird is far from a favourite, for its appetite is insa
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectreptiles, bookyear1
