DOVES IN A VERANDAH 131 



itself than the little brown dove. In the month of 

 March the two doves in question were " carrying on " in 

 my office skylight to such an extent as to leave no 

 doubt that they had a nest somewhere. I discovered it 

 on the rolled-up end of one of the bamboo verandah 

 chiks. These are not let down in the cold weather, so 

 that the doves had been permitted to build undisturbed. 



" Eha " has humorously described a dove's nest as 

 composed of two short sticks and a long one ; that of 

 the little brown dove is a little more compact than the 

 typical nest, a little less sketchy, and composed of grass 

 and fine twigs. There was plenty of room for it on 

 the top of the rolled-up portion of the chik. 



When I found the nest there were two white eggs in 

 it. Every species of dove lays but two eggs. I do not 

 know whether the smallness of the clutch has anything 

 to do with the helplessness of the young birds when first 

 hatched. Young doves and pigeons have not, like other 

 baby birds, great mouths which open to an alarming 

 extent. They feed by putting their beaks in the mouth 

 of the parent and there they obtain " pigeon's milk," 

 which is a secretion from the crop of the old birds. 



Being at that time less versed in the ways of the 

 little brown dove than I now am, I was under the im- 

 pression that this nest was in rather a curious situation, 

 so I determined to obtain a photograph of it with the 

 young birds. I may here say that I dislike photo- 

 graphy, and not without cause. Some years ago I 

 visited the Himalayan snows, and dragged up a great 

 camera and a number of plates to an altitude of 12,000 

 feet. Having no portable dark room, I endured untold 



