234 ENGLISH BIRD LIFE 



Islands, it is impossible to distinguish between the 

 races which from time immemorial have been 

 denizens of the sea-caves, and those which, weary- 

 ing of civilization, have merely reverted to their 

 ancestral haunts. 



Returning to the woodland birds, the last of the 

 species entitled to consideration here is the beauti- 

 ful little Turtle-dove. Unlike any of its congeners, 

 it is a summer visitor only to the British Islands, 

 reaching England at about the end of April. It 

 may be distinguished at once by its smaller size 

 and by the delicate hues of its cinnamon-brown and 

 black-barred back and wings. The distribution of 

 the Turtle-dove was at one time largely confined 

 to the more southerly counties, and a line drawn 

 across Yorkshire was held roughly to define its 

 northern limit. Now it appears not only to be 

 becoming more common in districts previously 

 resorted to, but also to be extending its range 

 northward. 



I remember a spot on the banks of a densely- 

 wooded little stream in Breconshire, where the 

 Turtle-doves came every morning to drink, and as 

 one fished up-stream, hidden by the overhanging 

 boughs, they might be seen resting on the shingle 

 ahvays at the same place. When alarmed they rose 

 lightly, threading their way through the thickest 

 trees without any relaxation of speed. 



Like the Ring-dove, the Turtle-dove forms a 

 slight platform of dry sticks on which to lay her 

 eggs, the nest being frequently placed on the hori- 

 zontal branch of a fir-tree close to the stem. It may 



