444 BULLETIN 16 2, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



this color often extending well down onto the neck above. The bill 

 is wholly black, not red at base." 



Its habits apparently do not differ from those of the common 

 ground dove, for he writes : 



This is an exceedingly common and familiar bird throughout all of the 

 Bahama Islands which I have visited, being equally abundant in the grounds 

 about the houses, even in the city of Nassau, in the open spaces in the scrub 

 remote from settlements, as well as on the most desolate and unfrequented 

 keys, provided they are sufficiently wooded to afford the birds shelter. In the 

 city of Nassau, and in other towns and settlements, they are very tame, feed- 

 ing about the houses either in pairs or in small flocks of from half a dozen to 

 a dozen individuals. 



The Bahama ground dove breeds everywhere about the more open portions 

 of the scrub. The nest, as far as I have observed, is always placed on trees 

 or bushes, the latter being most often chosen as a nesting site. 



Eggs. — These are also similar to those of the mainland birds. The 

 measurements of the only three eggs available are 24 by 17.5, 20.7 by 

 15.7, and 21.3 by 15.7 millimeters. 



SCARDAFELLA INCA INCA (Lesson) 

 INCA DOVE 



HABITS 

 Contributed by Charles Wendell Townsend 



The charming little Inca dove, sometimes called the scaly dove, 

 or the long-tailed dove, after characteristic features, is a bird of 

 Tropical and Lower Sonoran Zones and occurs in the United States 

 only in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Formerly confined in 

 southern Texas to the region between San Antonio and the Rio 

 Grande, these doves, according to A. E. Schutze (1904), on account 

 of long droughts, have " moved north and eastward to a country 

 where they found food and water in abundance.'' According to 

 G. F. Simmons (1925), the first record of this dove for Austin, Tex., 

 was in 1889, while, by 1909, they had become common nesters in 

 that region. Wherever found, it is resident, although in Texas, 

 according to the same author, " a few birds move southward in 

 colder, winter weather." Appearing to delight in human com- 

 panionship, the Inca dove is rarely found at a distance from towns 

 or the neighborhood of houses. 



Courtship. — Frank Stephens (1885) says of the courtship: "I 

 saw a little group on the ground, the males strutting around the 

 females, carrying their tails nearly vertical and cooing." Although 

 the Inca dove may be heard cooing in every month in the year, the 

 cooing is most in evidence during the courtship season. At this 



