204



Mr. T. H. Newman,



THE SNOW PIGEON.


Columba huconota.


By T. H. Newman, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.


(Concluded from page 17S).


The record of another pair is much worse; these are the

birds received on Jan. 6th, 1909. They live in another compart¬

ment and are chiefly remarkable for building a most substantial

and well put together nest among the open branches of some

brush wood ; it was entirely composed of small branches, was

several inches thick and was lined with smaller twigs, not in the

least the sort of nest I should have expected from such a rock-

loving bird. Later on, another nest, nearly as well made, was

built about two or three feet from the first one, after which first

one and then the other was used to lay in ; however, it may well

be that this unnatural site did not really suit the birds, as they

always deserted their eggs when they had been sitting about a

week. Four eggs were laid in 1909, and about a dozen last year,

the last two on the 18th and 20th of August; these eggs were

put under a pair of White-throated Pigeons (C. albigularis )

which hatched one young on September 7th ; incubation again

eighteen days, so that the period is evidently 17—19, average

eighteen days. This last young bird lived to be six weeks old.

Thus the net result of a year's breeding from two pairs was eight

young hatched from about twenty eggs, all now dead. I have

the melancholy satisfaction of seeing an unique row of eight nice

skins ranging from four weeks to three months old, a series

rendered very complete by the presence of a beautiful skin of

one of the adult odd females, which died early last year.


I do not know if the damp, sunless summer had anything

to do with lack of vigour in the young birds; they all seemed to

be doing well until the time approached proper for them to leave

the nest, then they generally declined, and the old birds seemed

to lose interest in them and refused to feed them. I believe if

only they would have continued to look after them for a very few

days longer that, at least, several would have reached maturity;,

certainly the only one that did become fully independent was

reared during the sunny days of late September and early Octo¬

ber ; it seemed a very strong bird, soon taking to driving even



