266 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



Society pm'diased ite first five specimens ol this Dove 

 in 1870, and received many others enbsequeintly ; it 

 reached the Amsterdam Gardens in 1888. Being freely 

 imported, many private avicuhiu'ists have owned it, 

 though I fancy 'the Martinican Dove is even better 

 known. Russ keeps Z. auriculuta and Z. mariilafa 

 di.^t'net in his work, and speaks of the latter as rare in 

 the marke't. 



Galapagan Dove {yesopelia galapagdnsis.) 

 Upi>er surface brov.nish-clive ; scapulars and upper 

 wing-ooverts brown, each with two black spot.-i, one on 

 «ach web ; the centre of the feathers often whitish ; 

 outer web of outer upper wing-cov-^rts whitish ; 

 primarj'-coverts and flights blackish, the latter with 

 narrow pale edges ajid tips ; tail gi-eyifh-brown, with a 

 black subterminal band; forebead deep vinoits; ear- 

 coverts silvery gi'ev with a 'black edging above and 

 be'low ; feathers of cheeks vinous edged with black ; 

 s'des of neck with golden and Qilacine reflections ; 

 throat paile rufous, changing to deep vinous on the 

 breai.=t ; abdomen rus.y vinous ; under tail-coverts gi'ey, 

 more or less tinged with rusty ; under surface of flights 

 grej-ish ; bill black; feet 7iink; irides dark brown: eye- 

 lids p.iile blii-e. Femaie rather smaller and p.i'er. Hab., 

 Galapagos Islands. 



I tiave not succeeded in discovering any piilfli.-hed 

 notes on the wild life of this Dove. Four ex.imples were 

 presented to the London Zcologicail Sociti.y in 1893. 

 White-winged Zenaida Dove [Melopelia leucnptein.) 



Upper surface, throat, and breast pale greyish 

 olivaceous brown ; jack of head and nape som'ewhat 

 pui'pili.-'h ; the latter shot \vith golden-green ; .sides of 

 neck shot with gclden-green and lilacino ; a liro-ad white 

 belt on the wing, from the bend to the tips of the great er 

 coverts ; bastard wing, primary-coverts, and tiiglits 

 brovvni«h-black ; primaries narrowly edged with white; 

 secondaries margined with white at the tips ; inner 

 secondaries brown like the back ; central tail-feathers 

 rufou.'^-brown ; lateral featliers grey, broad'l.v tipped with 

 whitish-grey and with an ill-defined ST.ibtenninail blackish 

 band ; a spot of black below the ears ; throat and upper 

 breast, tinged with ochreous; lower breast, abdomen, 

 under wing a^nd tail-coverts pale grey ; (lateral t lil- 

 feathers below black with the broad tips greyish-white ; 

 bill black ; feet pinkish puri^le ; irides pmple. Female 

 rather smal'ler and with sc:ircely a trace of purplish on 

 back of head and nape. Hab.. "Southern border of the. 

 United States, from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and 

 Lower California, sjnthward to Costa Rica and the 

 West Indies " {'Salvadori). 



J. G. Cooper ("Ornithology of California," pp. 515. 

 516) says that : " Not much is known of the h.iiiits of 

 this Dove." "According to Mr. March, the species is 

 aregariou'S, sometimes coliecting in very large flocks. 

 The eggs are white, like those of all the pigeons ; size 

 1.30 X 0.90." 



Major Bendire savs ("Life Histories of North 

 American Birds," Vol. I., pp. 145, 147): "The mating 

 sea'fon begins early, usually alxjiit the middle of March, 

 and the cooing and love-making of the male can be 

 heard and seen almost any day during a stroll among 

 the shrubbery found along the borders of the water 

 courses, which seem to be favourite resorts for many 

 of these birds. 



" Their call nolcs are varied, much more eo than those 

 of any other specie.^ of this famdy found with us ; they 

 are sonorous, pleasing, and rather musical. On this 

 account the natives keep many of them as cage-birds, 

 calling them Paloma canlador, Singing Dove. Thev 



soon become very, gentle a.id reconciled to captivity, 

 feeding readily out oi one's hand and allowing tbem- 

 stilves to be handled without fear. 



" One of their most charaicteristic call notes bears a 

 close resemblance to the fii"et effoil/S of o young cockerel 

 when attempting to ci'ow, and this call is frequently 

 uttered and in various keys. While thus engaged the 

 psrforme'r usually throws his wings upward and forward 

 above the head, and aJso spreads his taiil slightly. Some 

 other notes may be translated into 'cook for you,' or 

 ' cook for two,' ' ccok-kara-ooo.' besides a variety of 

 cmlils ; one of these, a querulous hars-h one, resembles 

 somewhat the syllables ' chaa-haa.' " " Nidification 

 usually begins in the latter part of April in southera 

 Arizona, and sometimes later The nests of the Whiter 

 winged Dove, like those of most of the members of this 

 family, are as a rule rather frail structures, consisting 

 of a slight platform, of small sticks and twigs inteilaced 

 with each other, and lined more or less with bits of 

 old weeds, stems of mesquite leaves, and dry grasses. 

 Mr. G. B. Sennett found a nest of this species made of 

 SjMnish moss. No pai-t.icivl'ar preference seems to be 

 shown for certain trees. I have found many of my 

 nests in mesjuite trees, the most abundant in that 

 locality ; others were i^laced in walnut trees, willows, 

 and ctiolla cactus, at various heights from ithe ground, 

 from 2A up to 30 feet.' ■' I bah. ve but one broo.d is 

 usually raiseci in a season. As near as I can judge, 

 incubation Basts aoout eightc'e.n days. The malo 

 relieves the female somewhat in these d\ities, buit does 

 noit assist to any great exient ; he, however, assiduoiicly 

 helps to care for the young. 



" Their food consists of insects, small seeds, grain, if 

 procurable, berries, mesquito beans, and the fruit of 

 the sahuara cactus, Cercu.^ </iijanteiis, which seems to 

 be a favourite article of food with many birds in 

 Arizona. 



■' In the late summer these birds collect in small 

 parties, and I found them not at all shy. I have 

 frequently seen as many as a dozen feeding among the 

 cavalry horses along the picket line in my camp, allow- 

 ing the men to walk within 10 feet of them without 

 flyin_g off. 



" 'The eggs are generally two in number, seldom one. 

 They are mostly ellipticaroval in shape — that is. equally 

 rounded at each end ; a few may be called oval. Their 

 colour is a rich creamy tint when fresh, and readily 

 perceptible then, but iii many specimens, especially in 

 such as were considerably advanced in incubation when 

 taken, this delicate tint'fades, in time leaving the egg 

 a dull white." 



Mr C F Underwood, writing on the birds of the 

 Volcano of Miravalles {The Ibh, 1896, p. 447). says: 

 '■ Very common by the roadside, where they can be 

 seen in flocks feeding on the ground, at which times I 

 have got as manv as a dozen at a shot." 



Russ asserts that hitherto it has only existed alive 

 in the Amsterdam Zoological Gardens : he overlooks the 

 fact that the London Zoological Society received two 

 specimens in exchange in June. 1874. 



This Dove was bred in captivitv by Miss Rosie Alder- 

 son in May-Julv, 19C2. who published an account of her 

 success in T/i'r Aviniltiiral Mai/azinr. First Series, 

 Vol. VIII., pp. 295-297. 



Sub=family Turturinae. 



We must 'now proceed to the typical Turtle Doves, 

 birds generally admitted to be more easily bred than 

 anv other Cnjnmhfr. and capable of producing among 

 themselves fertile hybrids to almost any extent ; I can 



