Rock-Dove — Columba Livia
Bluish ash, lighter on the wings; rump white; neck and breast lustrous, with green and purple reflections; two transverse black bands on the wing; primaries and tail tipped with black; outer tail-feathers white on the outer web; iris pale orange; bill black; feet red. Length, twelve and a half inches.
The rock-dove, or blue rock, the wild form of the domestic pigeon, is very rarely found breeding in any inland locality in the British Islands; in Spain and Italy, and other parts of continental Europe, it is an inhabitant of the mountainous districts. With us it inhabits the rock-bound coasts of Scotland and its islands, and of Ireland, and, very sparsely, the south and east coasts of England, and breeds in caverns, making its nests on the ledges of the rock. In its language, flight, and habits it is indistinguishable from the bird familiar to everyone in a domestic state.