Page:The Common Birds of Bombay.djvu/164

 CHAPTER XXV.

THE PIGEONS AND DOVES.

system of classification puts the pigeons and

doves in an order by themselves, for they are distinguished from all other birds by not one, but many, family features, which cannot be mistaken. Their beaks are swollen and soft at the base, but hard at the point. Their eyes are large and lustrous, and set far back in the head, which is small. Their bodies are compact