ü c o l u m b id j :.
thé Stook Dove which has heen proved to inhabit - thè
cliffs, as in Dorsetshire, the Isle of Wight, and Yorkshire;
and it seems to the Editor that the only localities in which
true wild birds can he with certainty indicated as breeding
are those in which the rocks, offer deep-caves, or at least
cavities and fissures. Cliffs of this description are comparatively
rare on the coast of England, and it is in the north
and west, and along the rugged, sea-scooped shores of
Scotland, Ireland, and their islands, that the true home of
the really wild Rock Dove must be sought. There can
be no doubt that this, with tyro or three - closely-allied
sub-species- or. geographical races, itsothe stock whence our
domestic Pigeons have sprung, and a very large proportion
of the latter have varied' sö little from the parent-rstem, that
it is often extremely difficultótb distinguish between true-
bred wild birds and those which have been at least.partially
domesticated. Both the wild stock, and the varieties produced
from it, have been exhaustively treated by the late
Charles Darwin,* and to his masterly arrangement of- facts
the present abstract is much indebted.
In the eastern and southern -districts <of England, localities
suited to its habits are few. and far;between, and even*in
some places which apparently offer therrequisite conditions,
such as Guernsey, Sark, and the . smaller Channel Islands,
the Rock Dove seems to-be little known ;■ in Devonshire it-ds
also rare and' very local, and only a fewfrequent-the cliffs of
Cornwall. It can bè traced-along the-ifoadt of Wales-to the
Islb of Man, to-the -northwards of which itsmumbers increase
Until almost every district up to th ^ confines of the Hebrides,-
the Orkneys', and the Shetlands, has iteitfjfa’*- Cabman,” or
“ doo-cave?n In Ireland also,' especially - on the -ruggèd/
wave-worn - drag's«of^the western? 'side, it is'-abundanf^fOn
the eastern-side of England -the. breeding-places».df* this
species are necessarily few,- arid' even in-Yorkshire and
Northumberland- the- Mrds-;doUn:d>un them are bpêfi-dofdke
suspicion Of japt bejmg pure wild-bincfe; but along- the^oast
offe^co4tlapd, from, tijg ^asj^Epck, upwards, thp wild Rock
* Variation of Plants and Animals under Domestication, iV'-pp'. 137-28S,
Dove is generally distributed. In many -localities .either
wild birds, or, more probably, those which have become feral,
are chequered with black on the wing-coverts and back, and
to such a variety the late Mr. Blyth- once - doubtfully gave
the name of C. qffims*
In the Faeroes* it-is abundant, but in Scandinavia the
wild bird is scarce and -very local1; whilst in the -rest of
northern and central -Europe it is decidedly uncommon,
except in a feral state, u n til‘mountainous regions ate
reached, when, as in- the.Pyrenees, it is again met with. »In
the Canaries it is common,1 and Mr. Godman states that it is
abundant in the Azores, t-most of-his specimens being-so
dark in plumage-that the band'on the .wings
visible; dark forms are.also found in Madeira, accompanied
by so much variability * as to raise, a strong suspicion that
they are domestic Pigeons which have become • feral. The
same suspicion attaches toi §s^gymnocycU.s, • G. R. Gray,
f r o m Benegambia, * and? also, to' the birds; now found in a wild
state in the island of St; Helena.’ • ■■ ' ■
On the coasts >0f the.^countries on both sides of .the
Mediterranean,* and on the islands, it is generally distributed ;
and in the mountain ’ ranges of - Spain,. especially in . the
neighbourhood of the Sierra Nevada, the Editor has: seen
immense flocks pouring forth from the deep cavernous gorges
on the way, to; their . feeding-grounds. He estimated that
within a short time fully 7,000 birds passed-in his immediate
vicinity, each flock being led by a pied and doubtless half-
bred bird, of which descriptionnthere. were generally a few
individuals in every band. It must be remembered > that
vast numbers of semi-domestic-' Pigeons exist in Spain,'and
that there are well-known laws for- their --protection,1 such
as the prohibition to shoot at them within ascertain.'distance
of the, dovecote, or when obviouslyreturning. ; to /it. In
Italy Bonaparte * considered »that gj hot had. discovered ’ a new
species, to which he gave the name of turT^oli^i. but this
is now;considered a mere-.vaaety-or-half-breed.,
* S ’ bird^m* which the black bars on the wing 'w'ere replaced- by a fe;w spots,
was named by Brchm -G.-'amalice-. •