VollV. I Roberts, T/ie Crested Pigeon in Captivity. 1 83 



movements in captivity. They are not easily frightened from the 

 nest by other birds flying about them, there having been all along 

 several others in the aviary, besides a pair of Silver Pheasants ; but 

 from the time the eggs were laid, upon my approaching the door, 

 a note of alarm was always sounded by the sitting bird, although 

 I was then quite 16 feet away — a small cry, a sort of fretful " Wee 

 wee." As time went on they seemed to become less uneasy, and 

 more silent, until the young emerged from the egg, when the cry 

 was resumed. 



When the male bird is paying his addresses to his love he is to 

 be seen to the greatest advantage ; he has a way of bowing or 

 curtsying to her, each time making a sound similar to " Woof, 

 woof," and at the same time spreading out his tail into a fan, the 

 wings on either side forming smaller ones, and on which can then 

 be seen four or five feathers forming two rows of jewel-like spots, 

 the outer having green, the inner purple, marks, reminding one of 

 emeralds and amethysts — a sight beautiful to behold, but too 

 transitory. The first young one appeared about the 15th of 

 September ; the other egg, although chipped, did not hatch. An 

 incident occurred in connection with this little bird. When it was 

 a few days old, fearing the parents might be disturbed by their 

 companions, I carefully, but unwisely as it proved, fastened a 

 bag across their corner, giving them only a small space to pass to 

 and fro. When evening came the sitting bird left the nest as usual, 

 but evidently the other one, which should have taken up the duty, 

 was either frightened or unable to find the way in, for on visiting 

 the aviary at 9 p.m. I discovered the baby bird forsaken, cold, and 

 weak. I immediately brought it to the house, warmed and fed it, 

 and took care of it for the night. Next morning about 10 a.m., 

 upon going for a small box to keep it in, the thought occurred to 

 me that I might see what the parents would do, so I entered the 

 aviary, placed it on the nest, and retired outside to await results. 

 The attention of the mother was at once attracted by its presence, 

 and without much delay she evidently recognized it, and I soon 

 had the satisfaction of seeing her nesthng down on it once more, 

 and was able confidently to leave it in her care. The little bird 

 having been successfully reared, by the 15th October the parents 

 were building again, and laid this time in a nest built about a yard 

 from the door and barely that distance from the path that every- 

 one passed along. Unfortunately, some alterations had to be made 

 to the front of the aviary — palings removed, and wire-netting sub- 

 stituted—with the result that the sitting birds were frightened from 

 the nest, almost on the eve of hatching, viz., the 29th of the 

 month. 



They shortly began to build again for the third time, in the same 

 position as the first nest, on a small platform of twigs, in a V-shaped 

 corner of the aviary. I kept no record of the date of laying, but 

 the first squab hatched out on or about 4th of December ; both 

 young birds were observed out of the nest on the 20th of the month. 

 One matter that struck me as remarkable was the almost complete 



