RINGED DOVE. 701 



they obtain a supply of grain, from which time till the ripening 

 of the corn, they subsist on the leaves of the wild mustard, pea, 

 and turnip, and are very destructive to the latter. They are 

 very fond of wheat and oats, less so of barley, and devour beans, 

 pease, and tares, with avidity. AVounded birds will roost in 

 the trees near farm-yards, for the convenience of having food at 

 hand. 



" The Wood Pigeons ceased cooing on the 7th October 1839, 

 and recommenced on the 18th of next February. They some- 

 times coo at night, when the moon shines." 



COLUMBA TURTUR. TURTLE DOVE. Vol. I, p. 291. 



In the summer of 1837, an individual of this species was 

 shot near Haddington. Its dimensions were : Length to end 

 of tail ll:j inches ; extent of wings 21 ; wing from flexure 7; 

 tail 4g ; bill along the ridge Z^, along the edge of lower man- 

 dible j^ ; tarsus nearly {I ; first toe j%, its claw /^ ; second 

 toe j%, its claw y| ; third toe \l, its claw i% ; fourth toe ^%^, 

 its claw y'|. On the tarsus were six scutella, on the hind toe 

 six, the second nine, the third twelve, the fourth ten. The 

 bill black, the bare space about the eyes deep red, the feet dark 

 carmine, approaching to crimson, the claws dusky. The head 

 and hind neck light greyish-blue, as are some of the smaller 

 wing-coverts, and the hind part of the back, but the latter 

 tinged with brown, and the upper tail-coverts brown at the 

 end. The scapulars, small wing-coverts, and some of the se- 

 condary coverts, and secondary quills, greyish-black, with broad 

 yellowish-red margins. The quills and larger coverts with their 

 outer webs brown, tinged with greyish-blue, the inner deep 

 brown. The tail-feathers greyish-blue, the two middle brown 

 toward the end, the rest tipped with white, and the lateral with 

 its outer web white. The fore part of the neck lilac-purple. 

 On each side of the neck a roundish patch of black foatjiers, 

 each tipped with white. The lower parts are cream-coloured ; 

 the sides of tlie body, and the lower surface of the wings, light 



