176 Mr. T. H. Newman,


I have never seen it.sweep the ground with its tail when courting,

l)iit rather raise it.”


The bird was originally described in 1831 by N. A. Vigors,

the first Secretary of the Zoological Gardens, in the first volume

of the “ Proceedings,” and forty-five years later the first two

examples were exhibited in the Gardens, where a few specimens

have been fairly frequently represented since.


My experience of the species dates from the 4th of August

1908, when I received two birds, and a third on the 20th of the

the same month ; these three birds were kept together. On

March 25th, 1909, two of them seemed to have mated, and on

April 5th I found the first egg, which must have been laid the

previous day, as a second appeared on the 6th ; these eggs were

unfertile. Another was laid on April 20th, and on the 30th I

discovered them sitting on three eggs, all of which proved

unfertile; 17th of July another egg, and on the 24th the nest

contained four eggs. Of course these two birds were both liens,

as well as the third one, yet they had behaved just as a true pair

would have done, being always together unless taking turns in

sitting on the eggs.


A real pair were obtained 011 Jan. 6tli, 1909, and a sixth

example—which proved to be a cock—on July 22nd, 1909; this

last bird mated with one of the original liens early in 1910, and

it is to this pair that most of the following notes will refer.


I have already called attention to the extreme length of

wing in this elegant bird : the tip seems to come to within about

an inch of the end of the tail, this length of the wings results in

extreme lightness and buoyancy of flight, accompanied by a

noticeable whistling sound ; from their marking, grey above and

white beneath, and mode of flight, the “ Gull ” Pigeon would not

be an unappropriate name for the bird. I have fastened up some

flat boards, which are much appreciated as resting-places, but

much time is spent on rather broad perches, though the birds

will often alight 011 quite small branches, they can perch quite

readily, much better than a domestic Pigeon. I think they

always spend the night in the inner house roosting on the top of

faggots ; not very much time is passed on the ground, in fact I

think they may be said only to go there to feed. They are not



