394 



NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Oreopeleia martinica. 



flight as low, swift, and protracted, as he saw them passing from Cuba to 

 Key West. They moved in loose flocks of from five or six to a dozen, and 



so very low as to almost seem to 

 \ '^ !)^' , touch the surface. They were fond 



< ^ of going out early in the morning 



from their thickets to cleanse their 

 plumage in the shelly sand, but on 

 the least approach of danger would 

 fly back to the thickest part of the 

 woods, throw themselves on the 

 ground, and run off with great 

 rapidity. Their movements of the 

 tail and neck are similar to those 

 of the Carolina Dove. Their coo 

 is said to be neither so soft nor 

 so prolonged as that of the common Dove, and may be represented by the 

 syllable ivlioc-iolioe-oh-oh-oh. When suddenly approached, tliey utter a 

 guttural gasping sound. They are said to alight on the lower branches of 

 shrubby trees, and to delight in the neighborhood of sliady ponds, always 

 inhabiting by preference the darkest solitudes. Whatever may have been 

 their abundance on Key West, in Mr. Audubon's time, it is certain that they 

 are very rare there now, as I am not aware of their having been taken of 

 late years by any of the numerous collectors who have visited South Florida 

 since Mr. Audubon's time. 



The nest is described as formed of light dry twigs, in shape much 

 resembling that of the Carolina Dove. Occasionally it is placed on the 

 ground, and is then less elaborate. Some are placed on large branches near 

 the ground, while others are built among slender twigs. 



Towards the middle of July, according to Mr. Audubon, they become so 

 abundant that sportsmen are able to shoot a score or more in a day. They 

 feed on berries and the seeds of various plants, and are especially fond of 

 the fruit of the sea-grape. 



Genus STARNCENAS, Bonaparte. 



Starnosnas, Bonaparte, Geog. & Comp. List, 1838. (Type, Columha cyanocephala, L.) 



Gen. Char. Bill short ; culmen about one third the rest of head, measured from the 

 frontal feathers. Legs very stout and large ; tarsus bare on the entire tibial joint, and 

 covered with hexagonal scales, largest anteriorly, longer than the middle toe and claw. 

 Inner lateral claw the larger, reaching the base of the middle claw ; all the claws short, 

 thick, and blunt. Hind toe and claw short; half the middle. Wings short, broad, and 

 concave ; much rounded. Tail short, broad, nearly even, but slightly vaulted. 



The single species of Dove composing the genus in many respects resem- 

 bles the Partridges or Quails, both in external appearance and in manners. 



