284 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AXD AVIARY. 



grief and a second jrair of eggs, whic-h I found dried 

 up, were not fertile ; therefore no young were reared 

 that year. It was very satisfactory to me to breed this 

 Dove", not only wcauee it had never previously been 

 bred in Europe, but because several of my avicultural 

 friends, with far more suitable aviaries and with much 

 more experience in the breeding of the Columbcv, had 

 failed in the caee of this sjwcies. Like all the African 

 Bronzewings, the Tambourine Dove is perfectly peace- 

 able. It is a singular fact that whereas the Asian and 

 Australasian Bronzewings are all more or less pugnacious, 

 the males of the various African forme dwell together 

 in i>erfect amity. There is also a good deal of similaa-ity 

 in their notes, which, by the way, are far more like 

 the sound of a tom-tom than a tambourine. That of 

 the Tambourine Dove I have described as "Hoo-lwo-lioo- 

 hoo, hoo-lwv-hon-hoo-hoo-hoo, ugijug-yug-uggte-ngcih." 

 (but I am not sure that the terminal rattle would not 

 be better expressed by " qrrrrrrrrr " ; it is very rapid. 

 The answer of the hen is "perph, jjerp/i, perph." and 

 then a eoft, long-drawn " herroo." 



Blue-spotted Dove (Chalropclia afrci). 



The adult male has the crown leaden-grey, changing 

 to white on the forehead ; the upper surface of the body 

 pale brown with two black belts acroee the lower back 

 and between them a pale brown one ; upper tail-covert.s 

 narrowly tipped with black ; bastard wing black ; 

 primary coverts and flights cinnamon, edged on outer 

 web and tipped with dark bromi ; some inner median 

 coverts and axillaries oraamented with bold epots of 

 £teel-blue and emerald-green ; foui- central fail-teathers 

 broHTi, becoming black at the tip, remaining feathere 

 grey with black terminal belt, tJie outer ones with 

 whitish base to the outer -vvebs; chin and middle of 

 throat buff-whitish ; sides of head, neck, 'back of throat, 

 .and breast vinous, fading to buffish-white on the abdo- 

 men and vent ; under tail-coverts, excepting the outer 

 ones, black ; axillaries and under wing-coverts bright 

 <:innamon ; bill dusky with broad orange tip ; feet 

 ibrowaiirsh-red ; irides brown. Female slightly smaller 

 .and a trifle paler. Hab., Africa. I do not know the 

 distribution of this species, as it has been confounded 

 writh the allied Emerald Dove (which is now separated 

 into five slightly diti'ering sujj-species). For the same 

 reason it is difficult to attribute tiie publi.'ihed field notes 

 to the proper epecies, but I believe that Heuglin's notes 

 refer to the present species, and tlierefore I shall assume 

 that it is this Dove which makes its nest in the lower- 

 .growing acacias or ZizijpJnis bushes, sometimes placing 

 it close to the main trunk a few feet from the ground, 

 .sometimes in the outer branches. As usual, the nest 

 is carelessly constructed from a few twigs, and two 

 yellowish-white eggs are laid. 



The bird is seen in various places feeding upon wild 

 .stone-fruits, berries, tufted maize, and other seeds. 



The breeding season is at the beginning of the rainy 

 season, and then the very melodious song is heard. 



According to Von Heuglin, it is " Duu-duu-duudii- 

 ■du-du-du " ; but putting it down one day as the bird 

 was uttering it, I made it, " Tor ; tor-tor : tor-tor-tor ; 

 tor-tor-tor-tnr-tor-tor-tor." 



I think it was in 1903 that I purchased what pur- 

 ported to be a pair of Emerald Doves, the male 'being 

 the present species, and the reputed female (which 

 proved to be also a male) the foi-m of C. i.-halcospila. 

 now regarded as typical. 



Emerald Dove (Chalcopelia tIialcos2>ila). 



Dift'ers from the preceding species in, its inferior size, 

 rather less rufescent colouring, the metallic spots on 

 the wings vaiying from deep emerald tc golden-green 

 (locally, I believe) ; the chin, middle of tlu-oat, and 

 abdomen without buffish tinting ; the bill dull black. 

 Female smaller and paler than the male, with le^ alert 

 and more squat appearance. Hab., Africa. 



Messrs. Stark and Sclatcr say (" Birds of South 

 Africa," Vol. IV., pp. 181, 182): - The Emerald-6ix>tted 

 Dove resembles the Tambomine Uove in its habits, but 

 frequents eom'ewhat more open ground, such as broken 

 bush, clearings near the banks of rivers, and such-like 

 localities; it obtains its food, which consists -chiefly of 

 grass-seeds, on the ground, and has a gentle cooing note 

 — ■ Hoo hoo hoo-hoo' — in gradually descending scale, 

 which is very characteristic, and once heard is never 

 liJiely to be forgotten. Its nesting habits resemble those 

 of other Doves. Andersson writes as follows : ' This 

 Dove constructs a nest of a few rough sticks, in a busli 

 or at the extremity of a bough of .some low, stunted 

 tree. The sticks composing the nest are so loosely put 

 together that a person looking at it from below may 

 see the two white eggs through the nest. It is seldom 

 that more than one egg is hatched. The young are 

 usually fledged by the middle of January'.' Eggs in the 

 South African Museum, taken in November, near Dur- 

 ban, are smooth, oval, and white with a creamy tinge ; 

 they mea.«ure 1.0 x .75." 



I should not describe the note of this Dove as in a 

 gradually descending scale, but rather as gradually halt- 

 ing to a. flnisli, tili'us : " Hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo. hoo-hoo-hoo, 

 hoo: hoo: hoo: hoo: hoo." It is very like the song of 

 the Maiden Dove, but not so loud. --Vs already stated, 

 my fii'st specimen (from. South Africa) was a female, 

 given to one by Mr. Bonstow in 1902. At first the cock 

 Tanilx)urine Dove was very attentive to her, neglecting 

 his own wife shamefully, 'but nothing came of the 

 liaison beyond a bixjkeu egg or two. When I purchased 

 a male (from West Africa), about a year later, I put 

 the pair together in another aviary indoors. The hen 

 occasionally laid a delicate pinky-white egg in a basket- 

 nest, fi.xed on the top of a cigar-nest-box, but she never 

 sat for moie than a day or two, the cock bird seeming 

 disinclined to relieve her, so that all I could do was 

 to blow the eggs for my collection. When blown they 

 are of a dead-creamy or even sometimes buttish-white 

 tint. Possibly the fuct that the male C. af'ra and later 

 on a pair of C'atopelia puella were in the same aviary 

 may have had something to do with the male birds 

 disinclination to sit. From time to time the heii became 

 very feeble and temi>orarily lo.st. the power of flight, 

 but she constantly recovered untril June 8th, 1908. when 

 I found her dead. 



The London Zoological Society purchased two pairs 

 and received a third i>air on deposit in 1866; in 1886 

 and again in 1887 a specimen was bred in the Gaixlens ; 

 so that I have little doubt, had I turned my pair by 

 themselves into an outdoor aviary, I should have suc- 

 ceeded in breeding from them. 



M.iiDEN Dove (Calopdia piiclla). 

 Tlie prevailing colour of the adiJt male is rich coffee- 

 brown, paler and more cinnamon below; the head and 

 back of neck are cobalt blue ; the forehead and throat 

 whitish-'blue ; loi'es black ; lower pait of neck and mantle 

 M-ith a vinous tinge ; inner greater wing-coverts and 

 secondaries spotted with golden gi-eeu, or glittering 



