GALLIN.E. £,, 



HABITS. 

 Audubon appears to be the only ornithologist who has ever met with this singuhir 

 DoA^e on the Florida Keys and he never procured a specimen but merely saw a pair early 

 in May, 1832; yet he was informed by the inhabitants that they occurred on the Mule 

 Keys, where, however, he failed to find them. I never saw a specimen there nor heard of 

 them and think that they must be very rare now on the Keys, if they occur there at all. 

 Out of the five species of Doves which Audubon found on the Keys, but two, the White- 

 headed, and Ground, Doves, occur at all commonly. Tliis diminution in the number of 

 these birds, may be due to the persecution to which they arc subjected during autumn, for 

 nearly all the species are killed for food, but it is probably largely duo to the fact, that the 

 Keys are not as heavily wooded now as formerly, thus they do not present as many availa- 

 ble places of shelter for the birds. It will be observed that I say that Audubon only found 

 five species of this order on the Keys, for he evidently never saw the Carolina Dove there, 

 for when speaking of the Zenaida Dove, he says, "The cooing of this species so much re 

 sembles that of the Carolina Dove, that, were it not rather soft, and heard in a part of the 

 world where the latter is never seen, you might easily take it for the notes of that bird." 

 This is worthy of notice, for the Carolina Doves are now common on all the Keys, and 

 when taken in connection with the fact, that they prefer more open country than isinhab- 

 itcil by the other Doves which I have described, tends to show that they have extended 

 their range to tbeso islands since the time of Audubon's visit. 



Notes on the White-headed Pkjeon, Habits: 



This species is common on all of the Bahama Islands in winter, quite a number 

 occuriug still on NeAV Providence, and they are not unfrequently met with near Nassau- 

 These Pigeons usually resort to the wilder ke^'s during the breeding season, usually 

 choosing the rocky islets as nesting places. 



The lirst nest of the White-Headed Pigeon that I ever saw was on the South Shore 

 of Androson April 29th, 1884. This was placed in a buttonwood tree about ten feet 

 from the ground, and was merely a tiat platform of sticks on wliicli were placed a few 

 leaves. Although the female was sitting near the nest it contained no eggs. 



One of the most remarkable sights that I ever witnessed as regards numbers of birds' 

 nests was on one of the Washerwomen Keys off the Soutli shore of Andros. These are 

 small rocky islets, lying on the barrier reef, and are some twenty-live feet high. On one of 

 these little keys, which did not contain over an acre of land, there were at least ten thou- 

 sand nests of the W^hite-headed Pigeon. The rocks were mostly covered with a scanty 

 growth of low bushes and with a more hixuriant growth of cacti, and upon both plants 

 and bushes the birds had placed their nests, and some Avere upon elevated jiortions of 

 rock, Avliile a few Avere placed upon the naked ground. So completely covered Avas the 

 southern and northern portion of the key that the nests Avere noAvhere over two feet 

 apart and often nearer together than that, rnfortiuiatcly, hoAvcver all of these nests 

 were of the previous year, only a single dove l)eiiig seen. 



