NESTS AXD EGGS Of AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. 677 



£(/(/».— Clutch, two ; elliptical in shape ; texLuie of shell liuc ; surface 

 glossy; Loloui-, puie white. Dimeusious iu inches of a proper cluteli 

 iruni Qi.eeuslaiid ; (1) 87 x -61, (,2) -84 x -6. From Eiveriuii : 

 (i) -SSx-GT, (2) ■84X-G6. 



Observations. — These delightful little Doves, well uamed Peaceful, 

 because so gentle and tanie, were also oiu- constant companions about 

 oiu- Cardwcll camp, feeding close to the tent or perching on the fence 

 behind. 



It is now accepted by ornithologists that Gould's Peaceful Dove 

 (G. trannuilla) and Placid Dove (G. [jhicalaj are identical, the latter 

 being a northern and slightly smaller vai-iety. Therefore the 

 geographical range of tliis pretty Dove may be taken as tlu-oughout 

 Austraha. Of com'se the bird is more plentiful within the Tropics. 



Close to the River MiuTay, one evening at dusk, I shot this Dove 

 accidentally, supposing it to bo another buxl. As I handled the dead 

 Dove, 1 could not sufficiently aduiirii its chaste colouring, whether the 

 grey, striated breast and barred back, or the rich bufi under parts of 

 the shoulders and general light uuder-sm-face, suffused with a deUcatc 

 piu-plish-brown, while a conspicuous patch of naked green skin sunoimded 

 the steel blue eyes. lotal length in the flesh, eight inches. 



I suppose the breeding season of the Peaceful Dove may be any time 

 of ill J year. Tlu-ee nests I took in the Townsville district, one on the 

 18th, and two on the 22nd September, 1885, each containing a pair of 

 eggs, were situated in trees overhanging river beds. I know of other 

 nests that were taken in Apiil. 



Mr. H. Lau writes : " The Small Dove (G. tranquil/a J is the pictm-e 

 of innocence amongst the whole of the feathered kingdom, and univer- 

 sally liked. Its home is everywhere on the Queensland Downs, but more 

 to where sandy soil is predominant ; but you rarely meet with its nest. 

 I heard of a squatter wno offered a blaekfellow a 200 lb. bag of floiu- for 

 a pair of young and could not get them. Such a nest I found at 

 Yandilla, 1865, and a second at Maidenhead, on the Severn River, New 

 South Wales, October, 1885 (or twenty yeai's afterwai-ds). The fii-st 

 was in a small cypress pine, and the second in a low fork of an apple tree 

 (AiiffophoraJ. Had the birds not flown from the spot I should never 

 have foimd either. Nest, fine dry grass. Eggs, a pair." 



As a rule tlie Ground Dove does not build at a great height. The 

 following instance is an exceptional record by Mr. D. Le Souef, during 

 a visit to the Wimmera district, September, 1892 : " I searched in vain 

 for their (the Doves') tiny nests, but was at last rewarded by discovering 

 one on a bough of a dead tree about forty feet from the gi-ound." 



Some persons say it is a misnomer to call this little bird the 

 " Peaceful " Dove, because when confined in cages, the males fight till 

 they peck each other bald. 



