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On Foreign Doves.



NOTES ON DOVES.


By Rosie Alderson.


PART IV.


(Continued from p. 133).


THE RUFOUS DOVE.


Geot?ygo?i montana.


This pair of doves came to me under this name, but I do

not know if it is the correct one or not. I believe they came

from the West Indies, and their worth is from 30/- to 35/- a pair.*

In shape, the Rufous is something like the Bleeding Heart, short

and sturdy, and with long legs. I have noticed both birds flirt

the tail up and down when alighting on a bough. In colouring,

the cock has a grey forehead, olive brown back, and vinous

breast, and has a general look of vinous colour all over him.

The hen is a larger bird, and quite different in colour. She is a

greyish brown, with beautiful metallic green reflections on the

neck, etc. I sometimes wonder if they are really the same kind

of dove or not. They take little notice of each other, but

to-day I saw the cock dressing the lien’s feathers and trying to

rouse her. She has, I think, got a little cold, and I must put

them in a warmer place for the winter. Both the Rufous Doves

are great favourites of mine, and they have also the merit of

being very quiet, inoffensive birds.


THE VIOLET OR WHITE-FRONTED DOVE.


Leptoptilci javiaicensis .


I have had two pairs of these very lovely doves. Neither

of my first pair could fly, each having a rather drooping wing,

and one of them, after I had only had them a few mouths, broke

its leg and died. I got a third specimen, a magnificent bird, but

he would not take to the poor little survivor. This new bird

had been hand-reared by the natives. I wonder if it can be a

general rule that any bird, reared either by hand or in an aviary,

is finer than a wild specimen, merely because it has no lack of



Since writing the above I have seen Rufous Doves offered at a lower price, but I do not

know if they were of the same species.—It. A.



