. Animate creation : popular edition of "Our living world" : a natural history. Zoology; Zoology. 444 THE ROCK-DOVE. is marked with several shades of gray, and the abdomen is soft pearly-gray ; the beak is warm orange, and the eyes topaz-yellow. It is a lai-ger bird than the preceding species, being about seventeen inches in length. The many varieties of size, form, and color afford an excellent example of the wonderful variations of which animals are susceptible under certain circumstances. Different as are the Domestic Pigeons, they all are modiJications of the common Blue Rock-Pig
. Animate creation : popular edition of "Our living world" : a natural history. Zoology; Zoology. 444 THE ROCK-DOVE. is marked with several shades of gray, and the abdomen is soft pearly-gray ; the beak is warm orange, and the eyes topaz-yellow. It is a lai-ger bird than the preceding species, being about seventeen inches in length. The many varieties of size, form, and color afford an excellent example of the wonderful variations of which animals are susceptible under certain circumstances. Different as are the Domestic Pigeons, they all are modiJications of the common Blue Rock-Pigeon, and if per- mitted to mix freely with each other, display an inveterate tendency to return to the original form, with its simple plumage of black bars across the wing, just as the finest breeds of lop- eared rabbits will now and then produce upriglit-eared BLUE ROCK-PIGEON.—Co/Mm4a livia. The Rock-Dove derives its popular name from its habit of frequenting rocks rather than trees, an idiosyncracy which is so inherent in its progeny, that even the domestic Pigeons, which have not seen anything except their wooden cotes for a long series of generations, will, if they escape, take to rocks or buildings, and never trouble themselves about trees, though they should be at hand. Some years ago, one of my friends lost all his Pigeons, by their gradual desertion of the loft in which they and their progenitors had been born, in favor of a tower, where they finally took up their residence in amiable proximity to multidinous jack- daws, and several owls, and may be seen hovering about the towers, but always remaining near its summit. This species seems to have a very consideiable geographical range, for it is common over most ports of Europe, Northern Africa, the coasts of the Mediterranean, and has even been found ill Japan. As a general rule, any one who wants Pigeons about his house, and is not particular about the breed, can obtain them without the least trouble, by gett
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Keywords: ., bookauthorbr, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectzoology
