Birds of Gamhia. 139 



surface of wings bright rufous. Iris dark brown; eyelids slate- 

 grey. Bill brown washed with purple, legs purplish brow/a. Length 

 8i inches. 



(Ena capensis. CAPE DOVE. 



Range. Ethiopian region. Madagascar. (H.L.). 



This well-known long-tailed little Dove is not uncommon here, 

 though they are rather locally distributed and never seen in such large 

 numbers as most of our other Doves. Nearly all of them leave 

 us during the rains and return again about the time of the millet- 

 harvost or soon after. Each year I generally see the first Cape 

 Doves of the season at the end of November or beginning of 

 December. They fre;iuent open country, especially the cultivated 

 and cleared areas round the towns, find their food (millet-grains, 

 grass and other seeds) on the ground and are always seen in pairs 

 or parties of two or more pairs. The male and female are most 

 devoted to each other, following one another about on the ground, 

 and when one flies off it is almost immediately followed by its mate. 

 On the ground they walk very rapidly, while in the air their flight 

 is extremely fast and arrow-like,— in fact when on the wing they look 

 very like big arrow-heads. Their note is a deep melancholy coo. 

 Among the Mandingoes they are known as " Moro-purah," which 

 literally means " the strict Mahomedan Dove." 



The sexes differ in plumage. In the male the front of head, 

 face, chin, throat and upper breast are black, the rest of head, neck 

 and upper wing-coverts French grey, the back pale brown with 

 two dark broAvn bands separated by a dirty white one across the 

 rump. Wings brown edged with black and with a patch of metallic 

 blue on the outer webs of some of the inner feathers. Upper tail- 

 coverts dark grey, tail feathers black witli grey bases. Lower 

 breast and belly white, under tail-coverts black. Under wing- 

 coverts brown with the angle of the wing black. Iris brown; bill 

 purplish brown tipped with yellow; legs dull crimson. Length 10 

 inches, of which the tail forms nearly half. The female has no black 

 mask, the forehead and breast being greyish white and the crown 

 and nape brown like the back. The bill is dark brown without 

 any yellow tip and the feet are much less red than in the male 



Besides these Doves there is another species which I know 

 by sighl here but which so j"ar I have been unable to identify. 

 It is very rare here, — I have only seen three specimens, the last 

 of which I was able to skin and send home for identification, 

 but have heard nothing further about it as yet. 



This bird may possibly be a hybrid between the Senegal 

 Dove and the Black Pigeon; when flying it looks very like and 

 almost as big as one of the latter, as its wings and tail are very 

 long compared with those of other small Doves, although when 

 measured its length is very little more than theirs is, namely, a 

 shade over eleven inches, as against ten. Its plumage on the 

 other hand is somewhat suggestive of the Senegal Dove. The head 



