458 BULLETIN 16 2, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



of a few twigs. It is usually placed in the tops of parasitic vines, 

 Tillandsiay There are two sets of eggs in Col. John E. Thayer's 

 collection, taken by Oscar Tollin in Cuba on April 18, 1906 ; one nest 

 was 2 feet above the ground and was made of small sticks ; the other 

 nest was in a small bunch of grass. 



Eggs. — The eggs of this dove are very scarce in collections ; I know 

 of only seven that appear to be authentic. Two eggs in my collection, 

 laid by a bird in captivity in Florida, are between oval and elliptical 

 oval, smooth but not glossy, and pure white, quite unlike other 

 quail-doves' eggs; they measure 31.8 by 24.8 and 32.7 by 24.7 milli- 

 meters. The three eggs, one set of two and one set of one, in the 

 Thayer collection are also white and are considerably larger, measur- 

 ing 37.5 by 30.2, 37.9 by 30.2, and 37.9 by 28.9 millimeters. Two simi- 

 lar eggs in P. B. Philipp's collection measure 38.5 by 27.7 and 37.7 

 by 28.9 millimeters. These seven eggs average 36.3 by 28, and the 

 extremes are indicated above. 



Plumages. — We know very little about the plumage changes of this 

 dove. The nestling is apparently unknown. In the Museum of 

 Vertebrate Zoology, at Berkeley, Calif., I examined two young birds, 

 about one-third grown, which had been hatched in an aviary. They 

 are fully feathered in juvenal plumage, except that the chin and 

 throat are naked. They are strikingly like adults in color pattern 

 and colors. The colors above are duller; the crown is duller blue; 

 the white stripe below the eye is present; there is a black patch on 

 the lower throat, bordered with white spots ; the feathers of the back 

 and wing coverts are narrowly edged with rufous. 



DISTRIBUTION 



Range. — Cuba, including probably the Isle of Pines; accidental 

 at Key West, Fla. 



Very little is known concerning the range of the blue-headed 

 quail-dove. It is apparently restricted chiefly to Cuba (Guama, 

 Trinidad, and Habana). Bangs and Zappey (1905) state that while 

 it has not been seen on the Isle of Pines by a naturalist, the natives 

 report its presence. Cory (1892) states that it is claimed to have 

 been introduced in Jamaica but was exterminated by the mongoose. 



Its only claim for inclusion in the North American list is the state- 

 ment of Audubon that he saw two at Key West, Fla., in May, 1832, 

 and that he also saw a pair in captivity alleged to have been cap- 

 tured on the "Mule Keys." 



Egg dates. — Cuba ; 4 records, April 14 to June 12. 



