28 Indian Doves. 



The Little Brown Dove is markedly smaller than 'he 

 two just described. To men of science it is known as Turtur 

 Citmbaycnsis. The prevailing hue of its plumage is earthy 

 blown, but the head is tinted red, and the breast and fore part 

 of the wing are washed with lilac. There is, on each side of 

 the head, a dull red patch spotted with black. The legs are 

 crimson lake. 



The- call of this little dove is soft and rather pleading. 

 It sounds something like cuk-cuk-coo-coo-coo ; the last three 

 notes following one another rapidly. 



Smaller even than the little brown dove is the Red Turtle 

 Dove {Ocnopclia tranqucbarica). This dove differs from all 

 its relatives in that the livery of the hen differs from that of the 

 cock. Now (peace be to the devotees of the theory of Natural 

 Selection ! ) there is nothing in the nesting or other habits of 

 this dove that explains the sexual dimorphism. 



Both sexes have a black collar at the back of the neck. 

 The plumage of the hen is mainly grey and she is often mistaken 

 foi a small ring dove. The wings of the cock are brick red; he 

 is a most elegant little fellow. The distribution of these four 

 doves presents a problem which no zoologist has yet solved; 

 capricious .seems the most fitting adjective to apply to it. All 

 four species appear to undergo a certain amount of local 

 migration just before the chief breeding season. This may be 

 due to considerations of food supply during the nesting season. 

 The migration is noticeable only at the limits of the range of 

 each species. The spotted dove is a summer visitor to the 

 Himalayas and is said to leave the vicinity of Deesa at the 

 beginning of the hot weather. 



BIRD WANDERERS. 



The little brown dove is a summer visitor to the lower 

 ranges of the Himalayas and to Afghanistan. The same is 

 tiue of the ring-dove. This species is probably a summer 

 visitor to Kashmir. I have never been there in winter, but have 

 observed that in summer the ringed is the common dove of 

 Siinagar. Mr. Jesse states that it deserts Lucknow in the hot 

 weather. 



The red-winged dove is a summer visitor to Sind and the 

 Punjab. In some parts of India all four species are found, side- 



