THE TURTLE-DOVE. 



447 



are equally industrious in the maintenance of their small family. The eggs are laid rather 

 late in the season, so that there is seldom more than a single brood of two young in the course 

 of the year. 



The Turtle-Dove is far more common in the southern than in the northern countries, and I 

 have reason to believe that in Derbyshire, where I was greatly fond of bird-nesting for some 

 years, it is not of very frequent occurrence, at least as far as personal experience goes, which, 

 however, is only of a negative character in this instance. The white eggs are rather more 

 sharply pointed than those of the Wood- Pigeon, but all the English Pigeons' eggs are much 

 alike and can with difficulty be distinguished from each other. 



TUHTLE-DOVE. Turtur vulgaris. 



The food of the Turtle-Dove mostly consists of seeds, such as corn, peas, rape, and similar 

 seeds. 



It is a bird of strong flight, and on its migrating journeys prefers to travel in company, 

 associating in little flocks of ten or twelve. The end of August and September are the periods 

 most in favor for the annual emigration. 



The Turtle-Dove may be readily known by the four rows of black feathers tipped with 

 white, which are found on the sides of the neck. The top of the head is ashen-slate, deepen- 

 ing into a browner hue on the back of the neck. The chin and neck are pale brown, tinged 

 with purple upon the breast. The upper surface of the body is pale brown mottled with a 

 darker hue, and the wing-coverts are another shade of brown edged with warm, ruddy chest- 

 nut. The quill-feathers of the wing are brown, and the upper tail-coverts are also brown with 

 a slight ruddy tinge. The two central tail-feathers are of the same color, and the remaining 

 feathers are dark brown tipped with white. Both edges of the tail are also white. The 



