Wild Rock Pigeons (Columba livia, Selby) delight in rocky and arid places. They depose their two eggs in the clefts of rocks and ruins. They are seldom seen in Europe in a state of complete liberty, except upon some parts of the coasts of England and Norway and certain isles of the Mediterranean. They willingly sacrifice their independence to live in pigeon-houses. They are generally regarded as the founders of the numerous races of our Domestic Pigeons.
Domestic Pigeons probably sprang from the Wild Rock Pigeons. They are of two kinds—the Colombier Pigeons and the Aviary Pigeons. The former enjoy almost complete liberty; they traverse the country all day to seek for food, and sometimes even return to a wild state. The latter are quite tame, and the door of their habitation can be left open without danger; they go a little distance, and always return to their domicile. If Domestic Pigeons cause some harm to our crops, they amply compensate for these devastations by the services which they render to agriculture. They are equally valuable to the breeder and consumer; the former derive a certain profit from them, and the latter an agreeable and economical article of food. To give a sufficient idea of the resources which they supply to public alimentation, we have only to state that certain species lay as many as ten eggs a year. Further, they supply a manure which is very efficacious for some soils. Raising Pigeons necessitates certain precautions which cannot be neglected without bad results: the greatest cleanliness is necessary in the pigeon-house or aviary; all turbulent individuals which sow discord, and often injure the fecundity of females, must be excluded; and the races must be separated as much as possible the one from the other, in order to avoid the production of sterile varieties. Amongst the Domestic species the naturalist can study at leisure the manners of Pigeons, and form an exact idea of their natures and inclinations; for he can observe them from their first steps, making their early timid endeavours to raise themselves in the air; afterwards noting at more mature age the evolutions of the sexes, and their fidelity to each other through years after pairing. We will examine rapidly the principal races of Domestic Pigeons.
The first is, as we have said, the Common House Pigeon, differing slightly from the Wild, which almost exclusively supports the population of Pigeon-breeders; this is sometimes called the Fugitive Pigeon. The Blue Rock is only a modification of the Wild Rock Pigeon; in form it is, however, more elegant, while the plumage is prettier. It is one of the most fruitful species.
The Pouter Pigeon owes its name to the faculty which it possesses of inflating its crop to an immense size by the introduction of air. This peculiarity often destroys them; indeed, when feeding their young, they find so much difficulty in causing the seeds which they have swallowed to reascend into their beaks, that they contract a malady which is frequently fatal.
The Roman Pigeons, thus named because they are very common in Italy, are easily recognised from the circle of red which surrounds their eyes.
The Swift Pigeon is of small size, its flight is light and rapid, and its fecundity very great.
The Carrier Pigeons belong to this race. They are celebrated for their attachment to their birth-place, or to the spot that contains their offspring, and for the intelligence which enables them to regain their native countries from whatever distance. Transport them miles from their homes, even in a well-closed basket, then give them their liberty, and after a time they will return, without the slightest hesitation, to the place from which they were taken. This valuable faculty has long been utilised, especially in the East. The Romans made use of Pigeons as messengers. Pliny says that this means was employed by Brutus and Hirtius to concert together during the siege of a town by Marc Antony. At the siege of Leyden, in 1574, the Prince of Orange employed Carrier Pigeons to carry on a correspondence with the besieged town, which he succeeded in freeing. The Prince, to mark his acknowledgment of the services rendered by these sagacious birds, wished them to be fed with strawberries, and their bodies to be embalmed after death. We learn from Pierre Belon, the naturalist, that in his time navigators from Egypt and Cyprus took Pigeons upon their galleys, and liberated them when they had arrived at the port of destination, in order to announce to their families their safe journey. In our century they have been made use of for similar purposes. The fluctuations of the Bourse were for a long time sent from Paris to Brussels by means of Carrier Pigeons.
The Tumbler Pigeon owes its name to its curious manner of flying. It has a habit, after it has risen to a certain height, of throwing five or six somersaults.
The Wheeling Pigeon describes circles like birds of prey. It is turbulent, and ought to be banished from pigeon-houses.
The Nun Pigeon is recognised by a kind of hood formed of raised feathers, which covers the back of the head and neck, and to which it owes its name. It flies heavily, but is very familiar and very prolific.