ABERRANT TURTLE-DOVES. 



friend Mr. D. Seth-Smith gave me a male which is 

 still living as I write in 1909. 



It is not clear when this sjiecies w.is first a'jquired by 

 the London Zoological Societv, but it was Ined in the 

 Gardens at Rogont's Park in 1861, 1862, 1863 and 1865. 

 and many other.s in later ye.irs. the last reK'orded in 

 the 9th edition of the " List of Animals " having been 

 bri-d in 1892. 



Cambay.^n TtJRTLE-DoVE (Turtur cambayensis). 



Uiffci's from tlie preiHilinn' species in the absence of 

 .any reddish tinge from the upper parts, which are of a 

 wiore uniform paile i-artliy brown colour ; the rump is 

 also never pure ibluiv^h, but unifonn with the b.ick, 

 though mort or less blue on the sides. Ha^b., "Con- 

 stantinople, where probably it h.xs been introduced, 

 and A.^ia Minor, to Tmkestan and Central India " 

 (Salvador!). 



Hume olii-erves ("Nests ajid Eggs," Vol. II., p. 351 

 ;uid 353) : — " The Brown Turtle- Dove bi'etds iirctty woU 

 all over the pl.iins of India and in the outer ranges of 

 the Himalayas to an elevation of 4,000 or 5.000 feet. 



"The eaili<st nest 1 ever obtained was at Etawah on 

 tho Lst Jann.iry, ajid the latest at Agia on the 2nd 

 August ; the first contained one, the second two fresli 

 eggs. 



" The nest is a very .<ilight one-, conmionly placed in 

 low trees or shi'uOs, often thorny cnes, at no gi'eat 

 height from the ground, but occasionailly about tho 

 roofs oi- in niches of buildings. The nest is composed 

 ■of thin twigs, grass-.stems, and sometimes a ixxA or two, 

 but has no lining. 



" They build at tunes in palms. I have found several 

 nests of this species in the bristling ci'owns of young 

 wild date-trees [Phitnix sylvestris). 



•' Tfiey have ceitainly two broods, and often, I think, 

 three, in the same nest, successively. 



" Two is the regular ccmplenient of eggs, but I have 

 ■very often found only one incubated, or a single young 

 bird in a nest. 



"These eggs arc, as usual, pm-e white and commonly 

 very glossy. They vaiv cmnpai'atively little dn shai>e, 

 though a good deal in size, and are typicailly ratlier 

 broad, nearly perfect ovals. Although in all this famiily 

 the size of the egg varies greatily, those of this species 

 are, as a body, smaller t.h;in those of T. 2^uJchrala, 

 Chahophaps inclica, and 'I\ euratensis, but about the 

 same size as tJiose of T. ti'anquebaricus. They are a 

 very pure white, seildom, if ever, exJiibiting that 

 •creamy tinge typical of 7'. Iranqiiebaricus and not un- 

 common in T. )■(?«( i».<. 



"In length the eggs vary from 0.88 to 1.18, and in 

 breiidtli from 0.75 to 0.9 : bvtt the average of forty eggs 

 is 1.01 barely by 0.86 full." 



ilr. T. H. Newman hss possessed this species, and 

 has recorded its penod of incubation as fifteen days 

 (cf. T/ie Avinil/iiral Mnriazinp. Second Series, Vol. 11., 

 -p. 211). The London Zoological Society acquired two 

 .specimens on June 11th, 1901. 



Tlie next two saib-families have been popu.laily known 

 as Ground-Doves, but they are far niore arlxireal than 

 terrestrial in their habits ; only flying to the ground to 

 feed as many other Doves do ; therefore, in my little 

 work, "How to Se.\ t'age-Birds," I propo^ed to treat 

 them as abeiTant Turtle-Doves and Metal-spotted 

 'Turtle-Doves, which I think is much better. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



ABERRANT TURTLE-DOVES 

 (Sub-family Geopeliinae). 



Ill these biixls the wings are rounded, the primiaries 

 not being much longer than the inner secondaries; the 

 tail is rather long, and consists of fixjm twelve to 

 fourteen feathers ; the tarsi are sealed in front. In 

 captivity they may be treated in the .same manner as 

 Turtle-doves ; they are far more quarrelsome. 



BAR-SHOULnERED DovE (Geopdm huincrali.<). 



The adult bird has the forehead almost to the centre 

 of the cro\vn, the sides of the head, fiont of neck and 

 breast bluish-ash, the chin and throat paler, almost 

 white ; the centre and b.ick ol crown to the nape greyish 

 dusky brown, eaoh feather with a pa'lfe subtenninal ami 

 black terminal hand; back of neck and mantle bright 

 cinnamon, each feather- with black tip ; back, rump, 

 upper tail-coverts, wmg-coverts, inner secondaries, and 

 tertiaries olivaceous, shading into greyish-brown, each 

 feather wrjth black terminal crcscentio bar ; primaries 

 blaokish-bi«wn, the inner web wideily chestnut except- 

 ing towards the e.xtremity ; secondaries olivaceous 

 brown, the inne.r webs somewhat chestnut in tint; tail 

 greyish browni in the centre, becoming gradually more 

 and more chocolate and white tipped to the outermost 

 feathers ; hind breast and front of aibdonien delicatelly 

 washed lilac, becoming more cinnamon on the flanks 

 where they overlap tlie bend of the wing ; abdomen, 

 vent, and under tail-coverts, white ; sides of abdomen 

 washed with greyish lilac ; bill slaty bluii^h, paler to- 

 wards the tip ; feet flesh pink ; naked skin round eye 

 mealy lavender ; iris ochre yellow. The female is 

 filightdy .smaller than the male (but there is a good 

 deal of variation in size in the males) ; her breast is of 

 a darkec and duller gi'ey colour. Hab., Australia, 

 excepting in the south-west, and in Southern New 

 Guinea. 



Gould says of this bird : — "-As the sitructure of its legs 

 would indicate, it passes tmuch of its time on the 

 ground, feeding on the seeds of various kinds of grasses 

 and leguminouis plaits. Not only is it one of the most 

 elegant of the Dove tribe inhabiting Australia, but it is 

 also one of the anost tame and docile, if I may judge 

 from the few I observed on the heated plains of New 

 'South Wales. Their confidence was such thcit they 

 sometimes perched within two yards of tlie spot where 

 I was sitting. Extreme thirst and a scinty supply of 

 water may, however, have rendered t.lieni more tame or 

 bold than they othenrise would have been." 



In its wild staite tftis bird breeds in Auigust, making a 

 flimsy nest of thin twiigs on the lower leaves of 

 Pandanus ; two white eggs are laid. 



In December. 1896, I purchased a ]»ir of this species, 

 the female of which lived exaotlv a year, dying on the 

 8th Decemiber. 1897. In April, 1898, I purchased a sup- 

 posed female — .a bird decidedHy smaller than my male — 

 and turned the two into an aviary ajiait frouL other 

 doves, as I found the cock Bar-shouldered Dove a perfect 

 tyrant towards all other Coliimhce. Gould states that 

 tiie female is smailler than the male, but ho should have 

 said than some males, for it soon became evident, from 

 the manner in which the larger bird tormented and 

 plucked the smaller, that both were c-oeks ; indeed, 

 after I had .separated them they would constantly call 

 to each other, both cooing exactly alike — a song which 



