KEY WK.rr DOVE. 



247 



CoMjR, Adu/l. General color of mijier pnrts, ln-uwnwli-ie.l, wlili tlic outor inav^'m; of tlie featliors of primnrieB and 

 Vail edged with greeni-h. There isa purpli-h iride-^cencc on Ow heml, neck, hack, rump, and upper wing coverts, which 

 has greenish reflections on the last two. Forelicad and line behind eye, purplish-red, which is followed hyaline of white, 

 ))(.rdered below by one of purplish, and the throat is white. Remainder of under parts, light purpli.sh-red, becoinino- white 

 on the abdomen and under tail coverts. 



Nesllinf/.i. Dark ashy-brown, becoming considerably lighterlielow. Feet, pink, bill, yellow, red at base, iris, red in 

 all stages. 



OBSERVATIOXS. 



Readily known from other Doves by the prominent white markings as described. Occurs in summer on Key West 

 but is constantly resident in the West Indies. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurements of male specimens from the West Indies. Length, IT 15; stretch, l~25; wing, G Ofi; tail, 4'3i>; 

 bill, '73; tarsus, ri3. Longest specimen, ir75; greatest extent of wing, I7'50; longest wing, 6- 15; tail, 4-.58; bill. "75 

 tarsus, 1M5. Shortest specimen, 10 60; smallest extentofwing, 17'00; .shortest wing, ")•!},'): tail, 'ISd; bill, -70; tarsus rii. 



DKSCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



Nests, placed ill low hushes or on the ground; they are not bulky structures, being c )!i posed of sticks c:irelcs-ly ar- 

 yanged, and are without lining. 



Ei/ys, are, according to Audubon, two in number, oval in form, pure white in color, and about tliC size of those of the 

 White-headed Dove. 



11 \iins. 



^\'lll'll I \i-ifi'il Kty Wi'St ill ]8TU, (iiio of the In-si liird.s for v\liirli T .sc.-iri-ln'il, w:i5 

 the JCoy West Pigeon. Jlaving read Audubon's account of these birds, I had some idea 

 where to hiok for thi'ui ;nid thcrelore, I started for the scrub, back of the town, a dav or 

 two after my arrival. I I'liund the tliirkcts very dense but fortunately, tliev were traversed 

 by certain paths ah)ng whielt I walked cautiously, keeping a sharp lookout (or something 

 new, when upon turning a corner suddenly, a Dove rose unexpectedly, with noi.seless wings, 

 from the <lust in front of nie and, in a twinkling, vanished in the thicket. I promptly 

 turned to follow him, confident that I was about to secure a prize, for I could see that ho 

 had alighted not far away. I am tolenibly familiar, through a life-long experience, with 

 all kinds of woodland, but when I entered this thicket at Key West, I found that I had a 

 new lesson to learn, for a more impenetrable jungle, it was never my lot to see. It was 

 m;i(lo up of small shrul)bery, about ten feet in lieight, and, at least, three fourths of the 

 sp( eies were furnished with hmg hooked thorns, and the branches of them all were closely 

 interlaced from top to liottom with thorny vine-^. Several species of large cacti, armed with 

 long, .sh;irp spines, grew plentifully among the luxuriant vegetation, and the way was 

 further impeded by triangular pieces of coral rock with which the surface of (lie ground 

 was strewed; ;idd to tliis array of obstacles, the fact that the weather was intoh'rably hot 

 ;iiid that moscpiitoes were very abundant, an<l one can judge that, although a jungle of thi.s 

 description is ijiiite picturesque when viewed from the outside, a closer inspection is not 

 .so pleasant. Through these obstacles, then, T slowly wended my way, endeavoring to 

 preserve the utmost silence, but just as I caught sight of the wished for Dove which was 

 running along the ground, not far away, I stumbled over a pointed stone; the bird rose 

 and disappeared deeper in the thicket, where all my searching failed to discover him. A 

 few d.ays later, I started another Dove but » siuiilar misfortune prevented me from secur- 



