Page:Pigeons - their structure, varieties, habits, and management (IA b28107901).pdf/26

 bird has been domesticated from very remote periods. By the ancicnts it was sacred to Venus, and it was unquestionably the dove alluded to in the Old and New Testaments. It breeds freely in confinement, even when in cages of moderate size. Although a native of warm climates, it may be allowed its liberty in the southern parts of England, and may occasionally be seen flying with domesticated pigeons; but it is apt to be killed by the cold of very severe winters.

A purely white variety of this species, destitute of the black collar, is not uncommon in confinement.

All these five species are perfectly distinct from each other; if a pair be matched, the male being of any one of these species and the female of another, they will not unfrequently breed, but the offspring are invariably sterile hybrids or mules.