Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/520

 504 PIGEON padded beneath. Most pigeons are perchers, and this family may be regarded as forming the connecting link between the gallinaceous and insessorial birds. Their geographical dis- tribution is very extensive, species being found in every part of the world except in the frigid zones ; but their favorite habitats are tropical southern Asia and the islands of the Indian archipelago. They generally nest on trees, laying two whitish eggs on which both parents sit in turn ; the young are covered with a thin hairy-like down, and are fed in the nest till able to fly, at first by a milky half-digested substance disgorged by the old birds. The flight is generally rapid and powerful, and ca- pable of being long sustained, as in the car- rier pigeon; in the more rasorial types the wings are shorter and rounded, and the flight is abrupt, low, and of short continuance. They are generally wild and timorous, and, with the exception of the common pigeon and turtle dove, have not been domesticated. The voice consists of a guttural cooing, at times plaintive and tender, at others harsh and unpleasant, and is mostly confined to the males in the breeding season; the colors are usually brilliant and beautifully diversified; their flesh is whole- some, nutritious, well flavored, juicy, and high- colored. The family includes the subfamilies columbincB or pigeons proper, treronince or tree pigeons, gourince or ground pigeons, diduncu- lince or tooth-billed pigeons, and didince, of which the dodo is the only representative. (See DODO.) In the columbinm the bill is moderate and slender, and acute at the tip ; the nostrils a longitudinal slit ; wings moderate and pointed ; tail of various lengths, generally rounded ; tarsi short, toes long, hind one about the length of the tarsus. In the typical genus co lumba (Lin n.) the prevailing color is bluish gray, of different shades, with feathers of a peculiar form and metallic lustre upon the neck; their feet are formed for walking as well as perching, and they generally seek their food upon the ground ; they eat principally grains, acorns, and other nuts, and some tender leaves and plants. There are more than 30 species scattered over the globe ; generally seen in pairs in summer, they collect in large flocks at the beginning of win- ter, sometimes migrating to milder climates ; they are fond of rocky places, especially on the coasts of Great Britain, Africa, and Asia, where they build rude nests. The common pigeon or dove is derived from the wild rock pigeon or biset (C. livia, Linn.); in its wild state it lives in caverns and holes in the rocks of the coast, and never in the woods or upon trees ; it swarms about the Orkney islands and the Heb- rides and on the rocky islands of the Mediter- ranean. Man substitutes an artificial dove cot for the natural cavern, in which the pigeons rear their young for his benefit; the birds, however, generally depend for support on their own exertions, and enjoy so perfect a free- dom of action that they can hardly be said to be domesticated. This species may be known from the wood and ring pigeons by the two broad and distinct black bars across the closed wings, the white of the lower part of the back, and the broad black bar at the end of the tail. Beyond doubt this is the species known to the ancients, which from time immemorial has been regarded with peculiar affection by man- kind, as the emblem of gentleness and affection. From the affectionate intercourse between the sexes, it was sacred to Venus, and was her constant attendant. The pigeon is interesting to the comparative physiologist from the fact that the parent birds nourish the young with the curd-like contents of the crop, secreted by special glands like the milk in mammalia, with this remarkable difference, that it is secreted by both sexes, and even most abundantly by the male. It was discovered by Hunter that the crop, thin and membranous in the ordinary condition, becomes thickened and enlarged in the breeding season, more vascular, with an irregular glandular appearance on the interior ; the secretion of these glandulse soon coagu- lates into a granulated white curd, so that the old joke about " pigeon's milk " is not with- out foundation ; a young pigeon, like a young mammal, will die if deprived of its parents in the first week of its life. Pigeons do not drink in the manner of ordinary birds, but by a long, continuous draught, without raising the head until the thirst is satisfied. There are numerous varieties or breeds highly prized by the pigeon fancier ; they have all originated from a few accidental varieties of the common species, isolated and carefully bred by man, and not from hybrid crossings with other species either allied or remote. As far as known, they are permanent when bred in and in, and, if permitted to breed indiscriminately with each other, produce a fertile offspring. Such varie- ties require the utmost care to keep them from degenerating, and have so far lost their natural instincts and desire for liberty that they have become nearly dependent on man for their sup- port, having in great measure lost the faculty of providing for themselves. Mr. Darwin has drawn from them some of his strongest argu- ments in favor of the origin of species by nat- ural selection. Among the numerous varieties of this species may be mentioned the fantail, Jacobine, pouter, tumbler, and carrier pigeon, the last of which has been described under its title. The fantails are so called from the great number of the tail feathers, their erectile power and singular trembling motion ; they are small, awkward fliers, and very apt to be overset by the wind; when pure the color is generally white, sometimes with a black head and tail. The Jacobine pigeon has a ruff of raised feath- ers forming a kind of hood like that of a monk ; it is small, but light and elegant, with white head, wings, and tail, and reddish brown hood, back, and breast; some highly prized specimens are pure white ; it is very prolific, a poor flier on account of its hood, and generally keeps much at home. The pouter or cropper is so