(iKIli'KLIA. 



19 



Larf,'e numbers of these birds used tube trapped in former years, and they bear . uiifinenieiit 

 very welL 



Mr. J. A. Uoyd, writinj^ from Ripple Creek, Herbert River, North-eastern Queensland, in 

 April, 1S92, remarked :—Gc<>/><7/,( tyanqmlla fre(iuents the stables in hundreds in the winter to feed 

 on the cracked corn the horses spill." 



b'roni Himbi, Duaringa, (Jueensland, Mr. H. G. iJarnard sent me the following,' note : — 

 " Giifclia tianquilla breeds from September to April, accordinL,' to the season. I have found the 

 nest situated in a low bush within three feet of the f,'round, and at heij^hts ran,i,'in;.4 up to sixty 

 feet, hut the general hei^'ht is from ei'^^ht to thirty feet. Two e'.,'i,'s are laid for a sittinf; ; the 

 nests are fre(iuently found by the bird tlutterin;^' from the nest to the <,'round, and pretendin.t; to 

 be wounded." 



From Alstonville, New South Wales, .Mr. ]I. R. lilvery writes me :—" On several occasions 

 I have found Cfopdia tvaiiqiiiUd breeding near Alstonville, in the Richmond River District. On 

 the i)tli September, 1903, I found a nest placed on a horizontal limb of a Cork-tree, containin.;,' 

 one yuunf,' bird. A nest built in a Peach-tree contained two fresh e^'og on 30th November, 



19114. .Another nest built 

 on vines _L;rowin^' over 

 a horiz(jntal limb on the 

 bank of a creek, con- 

 tained two fresh eg;^s on 

 jth October, 1906." 



l\[r. Robt. Grant has 

 handed me the following; 

 note : — " I have found 

 the Peaceful Dove 

 (Gcopclid {raiujuilla } in 

 nearly e\ery part of 

 Australia \ isited by me. 

 In Western New South 

 \\ ales it was very com- 

 mon wherexer there is 

 water, generally being 

 seen in small Hocks of four or five, more than in pairs. These birds do not seem to have much 

 fear of one's presence. I have seen them feeding close to the open front of my tent while I 

 have been skinning. A few years ago they used to be fairly common at Abbotsford, near Sydney, 

 and in October, 1909, they were very plentiful near Liverpool, on George River. While 

 collecting at Coronga Peak, in Western New South Wales, I found a nest of this species built 

 in a small tree, about eight feet from the ground ; it was rather neatly made of line twigs and 

 grasses, and contained a single fresh egg, which I left. Collecting in company with Mr. E. J. 

 Cairn, in 1S88, we found this Dove common in the forest country all around Cairns, North- 

 eastern < Queensland." 



Mr. G. A. Heartland writes me as follows from Melbourne, X'ictoria :~" Wherever permanent 

 water e.xists in Northern Australia the Peaceful Dove may be found. When breeding these birds 

 are usually seen singly or in pairs, but at other times they assemble in Hocks ofadozen or more. 

 Their movements are graceful, but the note uttered by a solitary bird is very mournful. 

 Although termed peaceful, they are often pugnacious, and on one occasion I saw what I believed 

 to be two males fighting until they were so exhausted that a native ran up and killed them both 

 with a switch. Both sexes share in the work of nest building, hatching and feeding the yount'. 



NE.ST \Sl) 1X;US OF PK.-M'KFUL HOVE. 



