Pigeons are generally considered an injurious stock to the farmer, as they subsist almost wholly on grain, and devour, in the course of a year, infinitely more than would amount to their own value.
There are more than twenty different varieties of the domestic pigeon, of which those called carriers, tumblers, croppers, and powters, are perhaps the best known.
153. The Carrier Pigeon, which is easily distinguished from others by a broad circle of naked white skin round each eye, and by the dark bluish colour of its plumage, is remarkable for the celerity and certainty with which it has been known to convey letters from distant parts. This arises from the natural attachment which the birds have for the places where they have been bred. The mode of employing them is to take them to the spot whence intelligence is to be brought, to tie the letter under their wing, and let them loose. They rise to a great height into the air; then, by an unaccountable instinct, they dart onward in a direct line to their home. The rapidity of their motion is such that they have been known to fly at the rate of near thirty miles an hour.
154. The RING DOVE (Columba palumbus) is a species of pigeon known by its cinereous plumage, the tail feathers being black on the hind part, the first quill feathers being whitish on the outer edge, and the neck white on each side.
It is common in our woods, and is also found in most other parts of Europe.
These birds differ from the last in the habit of constructing their nests on the branches of trees, and particularly on those of the fir-tree, and not in holes of rocks and buildings. As they are of considerably larger size than the domestic pigeon, and, whilst young, are almost equally good for the table, several attempts have, at different times, been made to domesticate them, by hatching their eggs in dove-houses under pigeons; but it has always happened that as soon as they were able to fly, they have escaped to their natural haunts in the woods.
155. The CROWNED PIGEON (Columba coronata, Fig. 33) is a bird about the size of a turkey, of blueish colour, with a crest four or five inches high upon its head, and the shoulders somewhat rust-coloured.
It is found in New Guinea, and some of the adjacent islands.
By the inhabitants of New Guinea crowned pigeons are killed for food; and, from their great size, they often afford a very important supply. As they are easily domesticated, they are frequently reared in poultry yards in the East Indies; and their appearance there is highly pleasing and ornamental.
156. The PASSENGER PIGEON (Columba migratoria) is known by its long tail, the circles round the eyes being naked and blood coloured, and the breast being of reddish colour.