468 RING-DOVE. 



Parks ten pairs now nest for one which did so five or six years ago, 

 and this, at least, offers no cause for regret. 



In summer the Ring-Dove is found over the wooded districts 

 of Europe up to 65°-66° N. lat., but the northern-bred birds migrate 

 from the colder regions in winter, and join those which are resident 

 in the central and southern districts, as well as in Northern Africa. 

 Its western limit appears to be in the nearer islands of the Azorean 

 group ; while eastward its range cannot be traced with certainty 

 beyond 60° E. long., a meridian which skirts the Ural Mountains 

 and the Persian Gulf. 



Breeding begins in March or early in April, and a second clutch of 

 eggs is usually laid in June, while a third brood is often produced in 

 October. The nest, slightly built of twigs laid cross-wise, is placed 

 in almost any kind of tree ; frequently in thick ivy on cliffs and 

 old walls, commonly in bushes or hedge-rows, and sometimes on 

 former habitations of other birds or squirrels. The eggs, usually 

 2, but exceptionally 3 in number, are oval, and of a pure glossy- 

 white : average measurements i"6 by i'2 in. They are laid at 

 intervals of two or three days, and incubation lasts from sixteen to 

 eighteen ; the male, as a rule, sitting in the day-time. The young 

 are blind and helpless until about the ninth day, and remain in 

 the nest until able to fly ; being fed with a half-digested curd-like 

 substance, regurgitated from the crops of their parents. Grain of 

 all sorts, peas, young clovei, the leaves and bulbs of turnips, beech- 

 nuts and berries, with a good many plants and their seeds form the 

 chief articles of diet. The Ring-Dove is strictly monogamous, and 

 in summer is generally seen in pairs, but in cold weather becomes 

 gregarious. Exceptionally it has been known to breed in confine- 

 ment, and also to produce a hybrid with the domestic Pigeon. Its 

 note is the well-known coo too, coo coo. 



The adult male has the head bluish-grey ; sides and back of the 

 neck glossed with violet and green, bounded on each side by a patch 

 of white; mantle brownish-grey; wing-coverts grey, broadly edged 

 with white, which forms a conspicuous bar ; lower back slate-grey ; 

 tail-feathers nearly black, except at their bases ; breast rich vinous- 

 purple, belly paler, flanks and vent ash-grey. Length 1 7 in. ; wing 

 10 in. The female is smaller and somewhat duller in colour. The 

 young before their first moult have no white on the sides of the 

 neck, and their tints are less pure, but the adult plumage is assumed 

 the first year. Varieties more or less spotted with white, and even 

 perfect albinoes, are sometimes met with. Weight, from 17-26 ozs. 



