There is also the greenpie, a bird about the
size of a turtle-dove, green-coloured all over, that pecks at the bark
of trees with extraordinary vigour, lives generally on the branch of a
tree, has a loud note, and is mostly found in the Peloponnese. There
is another bird called the 'grub-picker' (or tree-creeper), about as
small as the penduline titmouse, with speckled plumage of an ashen
colour, and with a poor note; it is a variety of the woodpecker.
There are other birds that live on fruit and herbage, such as
the wild pigeon or ringdove, the common pigeon, the rock-dove, and the
turtle-dove. The ring-dove and the common pigeon are visible at all
seasons; the turtledove only in the summer, for in winter it lurks
in some hole or other and is never seen. The rock-dove is chiefly
visible in the autumn, and is caught at that season; it is larger than
the common pigeon but smaller than the wild one; it is generally
caught while drinking. These pigeons bring their young ones with
them when they visit this country. All our other birds come to us in
the early summer and build their nests here, and the greater part of
them rear their young on animal food, with the sole exception of the
pigeon and its varieties.
Pages:
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431