240 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF SCIENCE.S. 



in the fall, remaining about, two weeks. A few remained to 

 breed" (Smith). My mother tells of immense flocks which vis- 

 ited Winneshiek county in the '50's, alighting in the timber, 

 where the boys killed large numbers at night b}^ knocking them 

 from the branches with sticks. 



Subfamily ZENAIDIN.55. Ground Doves. 

 Genus Zenaidura Bonaparte. 



133- (316). Zenaidura iiiacroKra (Linn.). Mourning Doves. 



The Mourning Dove or Turtle Dove is an abundant and famil- 

 iar summer resident in all parts of the state, and the mournful 

 cooing note may be heard almost anywhere during the mating 

 season. Two or three broods are reared during the season. I 

 have found fresh eggs in Winnebago county in all the months 

 from April 30 to September i . The nest is a very carelessly made 

 affair, composed of a few twigs loosely thrown together, usually 

 in a bush or a low tree. In Clyde county, Kansas, I found one 

 nest July 21 and one July 22, 1903, on the ground in freshly-cut 

 wheat stubbie. Dr. Rich also records several instances of the 

 Mourning Dove breeding on the ground (West. Orn., v, i, igoo). 



The Mourning Dove usually arrives from the south in March 

 and departs in the latter part of October. During the nesting 

 season they are usually in pairs, but in the fall assemble in flocks 

 of varying size and frequent grain and stubble fields. At sunset 

 numbers regularly gather on the shores of some pool to drink. 

 A few birds frequentl}^ remain during mild winters as far north 

 as the center of the state. 



Winter records: Blackhawk — "from one to five generally re- 

 main here all winter; none observed here in winter of 1903-04" 

 (Salisbury). Jackson — "abundant; resident" (Gidding.s). Jasper 

 — "reported all winter in 1890, at Baxter, about the stock yards, 

 by J.W.Preston" (Bendire, Life Hist. N. A. Bds., 141-42). John- 

 son — occasional in winter (Anderson). Lee — "a few remain all 

 winter" (Currier). Linn — "a few are .spending the winter here 

 (1903-04); as many as twelve have been seen at one time" 

 (Keyes). Muscatine — "Jan. 26, .saw two common Doves; ground 

 entirely covered with snow, and 6° below zero. In mild weather 

 they are .sometimes .seen in January and February, but this has 

 been an unusually .severe winter" (C. N. P., O. & O., vi, i, 1881, 7). 



