Mr. A. Hume on Indian Ornithology. 19 



I had known that our smallest Dove, the beautiful little Turtur 

 hwnilis, was sitting. Everywhere the males were to be seen 

 busy on the grass, but not a single lady was visible. Obviously 

 the "white kid^^ was on the knocker, if only one could find the 

 house ; but this had fairly puzzled us. Just as I was entering 

 the bungalow and taking a last loving glance at the fair face of 

 nature, so soon to be hidden from me by dingy rooms and sallow 

 faces of disputatious counsel, just as I was drinking in the merry 

 song of the Bulbul, soon to be drowned in the monotonous and 

 everlasting pleadings purposing to show cause for and against 

 everything in creation, I distinctly saw a female of the species 

 fly down to her mate off the extremity of one of the lower 

 branches of a huge patriarchal mango-tree. My court was to 

 open at 10, and a great case (all about nothing, by the way, 

 simply a vent to the feelings of two irascible bankers, who were 

 too fat to turn out and fight out their mutual antipathies like 

 men) was to come on — 9 o'clock had struck, I had breakfast 

 to get, and I make it a rule as Judge (new brooms always sweep 

 clean, my friends say) to be in my seat by the last stroke of the 

 Lour ; nevertheless I ran off to the tree and began to scrutinize 

 the branch. After a minute I saw the eggs, two in number, 

 exactly over my head, and apparently suspended by only a ie^ 

 cross threads. I got a high pair of steps, and mounted to the 

 nest. It was a tiny network of grass-stems, so slightly put to- 

 gether that, as just mentioned, the eggs were clearly visible 

 from below. How eggs could be hatched in such a situation I 

 am at a loss to understand. The slightest storm (and we have had 

 several such lately) would, I should fancy, have flung the eggs 

 far away; but there they were, fresh and unsullied. They were 

 considerably smaller than those of our other common Doves [Tur- 

 tur suratensis, T. camhayensis, or T. risorius), and distinguishable 

 from the eggs of these species by a very faint creamy tinge, 

 scarcely noticeable, except by contrast with those of the others. 

 Taken alone, you would say they w^erepure white; placed beside 

 the others, you would instantly notice in them a very faint ivory- 

 like tint altogether wanting in the rest. These eggs measured 

 1 inch in length by '75 and -812 in. in breadth. Thus, after a 

 four hours^ journey round our gardens, my companion and I 



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