INCA DOVE 445 



time, also, the dove is very pugnacious, and the rivalry is intense 

 among them. 



M. F. Gilman (1911) says: 



The Inca dove could never have inspired the term " dove of peace," as 

 they are pugnacious to a fault and fight like little fiend:-;. Two of them will 

 face each other with one wing on guard, held straight above the body, then 

 close in and mix it, buffeting with wings till the sound of the blows is audible 

 at a distance of fifty yards. The bill is also used with bloody results about 

 the head. I have been told that one will sometimes kill the other, but never 

 saw such an extreme case. When arranging for a fight the combatants utter 

 a sort of growl, if it may be so described; a very guttural, • anger-expressing 

 sound. 



Bryant (1891), quoting A. J. Grayson, says, "They exhibit the 

 most ardent attachment for their mates and may often be seen caress- 

 ing each other in a loving manner." 



Nesting. — The Inca dove delights to nest near houses or barns 

 even in villages and towns. Indeed, nests are rarely found except 

 in the vicinity of mankind, and this familiarity is shown by the 

 fact, according to M. F. Gilman (1911), that " the birds are generally 

 quite tame on the nest, rarely flying off till the intruder comes closer 

 than arm's length," and, he adds, " they are so accustomed to human 

 presence that the broken-wing subterfuge is rarely resorted to." 

 A curious instance of this familiarity with man and his works is 

 given by George F. Simmons (1925), who reported that "a nest 

 was on a trolley wire at a switch in the eastern part of Austin, 

 where about every seven minutes street-cars raised it from six to 

 twelve inches above its normal position." 



The usual location of the nest is on a horizontal fork or flattened 

 limb of a tree or in a bush, and it is generally within 10 or 12 feet 

 of the ground, varying in height from 4 to 25 feet. Shade trees 

 planted about dwellings are commonly used. Umbrella trees, cot- 

 tonwoods, elms, sycamores, fruit trees, mesquites, live oaks, acacias, 

 thorn bushes, prickly-ash, and even Opuntia cactuses are all used for 

 this purpose, and, according to A. J. Grayson, quoted by W. E. 

 Bryant (1891), "not infrequently they construct a nest under the 

 sheds of the houses, if a suitable beam is found." 



A. J. Van Rossem, in his notes from Salvador, says : 



Inca doves breed the year round, nor does there appear to be any notable 

 increase or decline of this activity correlated with season. The number 

 of broods raised per year is not known to us, but because of the activity of 

 the species as a whole it is not difficult to conjecture four or five. There is no 

 cessation of nesting because of the fall molt. Males and females alike appear 

 to have no dormant period whatsoever. This statement is based upon speci- 

 mens taken every month in the year besides others inadvertently shot but not 

 preserved, and observations of numerous nests. Eggs were seen in July, 

 August, September, October, November, February, and April. Nests of the 

 usual slight dove construction were seen in orange trees, balanced on palm 



