8 



BIRD NEWS 



THE MOURNING DOVE (Zena- 



idura carolinensis) IN 



CAPTIVITY 



Abstract o( paper by E. W. GIFFORD 



On February 15, 1908, I purchas- 

 ed two of these beautiful birds, pre- 

 sumably male and female. The 

 smaller specimen was in rather brok- 

 en plumage, being minus a tail. A 

 new tail soon made its appearance 

 and so rapid was its growth that the 

 increase in length was distinguishable 

 daily. 



Until the middle of April a small 

 summer house, some five feet in 

 diameter, was their home. Not until 

 March 11th did they make any sound 

 — on that date their mournful "coo" 

 was first heard. On April 12th I 

 changed their quarters into a larger 

 aviary, with a ground area of 400 

 square feet. They were appreciative 

 of the larger quarters and immediate- 

 ly joined the Barbary Turt'e Doves 

 which were feeding in the short 

 grass. A week later energetic cooing 

 upon the part of the smaller and 

 above noted tailless specimen reveal- 

 ed the fact that both birds were 

 males. During May and June they 

 cooed incessantly during the day, in- 

 deed often far into the night, espec- 

 ially if moonlight. 



By this time both birds were in full 

 breeding plumage. They were con- 

 stantly fighting each other. On June 

 16th I added two more specimens to 

 the aviary, both females. Within a 

 few days one of them struck up an 

 acquaintance with one of the male 

 birds, she urged her attentions upon 

 him in a very business like manner, 

 constantly following him with out- 

 spred wings. Occasionally he would 



give chase, only stopping to coo when 

 very close and that very seldom. The 

 male birds still continued their per- 

 sonal battles. By June 2 4 both pairs 

 had mated, one pair had already laid 

 an egg in a very rudimentary nest, a 

 few sticks placed on top of a box in a 

 peach tree. 



The ante-nesting actions were 

 somewhat novel. The males seemed 

 to be the active builders, the females 

 usually sitting on the half formed 

 nest or else close by. When choosing 

 the nesting site the male would go to 

 a likely place and squat down, rais- 

 ing the tail and lowering the head. 

 He would at the same time utter 

 a very short coo, a soft note 

 out of the the many given in the 

 usual cooing. This particular note 

 seemed to harmonize with the vibra- 

 tions of head, wings, and tail. The 

 domestic arrangements were not fol- 

 lowed by much success, for notwith- 

 standing eggs being laid and hatch- 

 ed, only two young birds reached ma- 

 turity sufficiently to leave the nest. 

 The period of the young remaining 

 in the nest varied from 11 to 13 days. 

 The male bird of one of the pairs 

 having died, the unattached female 

 made distinct overtures to the still 

 remaining paired male. These over- 

 tures met with recognition, for the 

 male bird seemed to give preference 

 to the widow hen rather than to his 

 own partner. This conduct caused 

 distinct rivalry between the two 

 female birds, and it was not until the 

 paired female gave the "widow" sev- 

 eral good thrashings that the male 

 bird got wise, quit flirting and 

 returned to his original and lawful 

 mate. The breeding season terminated 

 about the end of August, a rather 

 earlier close than was recorded in 

 other species of doves. Whether or 

 not the interrupted course of "love" 

 had anything to do with it or not I 

 am not prepared to say. 



