190 • PIGEONS AND DOVES. 



This is a common West Indian species. Audubon found it in 

 numbers in the keys off southern Florida, where he records it as a 

 summer resident, arriving in April and departing in October. The 

 few naturalists who have visited these keys since Audubon's time have 

 n't been there in the summer, and we do not therefore know whether 

 this species still occurs there at that season. It is more terrestrial in 

 habits than the Mourning Dove, and its notes are deeper, louder, and 

 more solemn than the notes of that species. 



The White-winged Dove {319. MelopeUa leucoptera) is a species of gen- 

 eral distribution from the Mexican border of the United States south to Costa 

 Kica, and it has been recorded from Cuba, Jamaica, and San Domingo. It is 

 of accidental occurrence at Key West, Florida. ^ 



320. Columbi^allina passerina terrestris Chapm. Ground 

 Dove ; Mourning Dove. Ad. $, . — Forehead and under parts vinaceous, the 

 centers of the breast-feathers blackish ; top and back of the head bluish slate- 

 color ; back brownish gray ; tail blackish, the outer feathers with small white 

 tips ; base of the bill coral-red, tip black. Ad. 9 . — Similar, but the forehead 

 and under parts pale brownish gray. Im. — Resembles the 9 , but the feathers 

 are tipped with whitish. L., 6-75 ; W., 3-60 ; T., 2-50 ; B., -50. 



Range. — South Atlantic and Gulf States north to North Carolina, west to 

 Texas ; more common near the coast than inland. 



Washington, accidental ; two records. 



Nest., on the ground or in low trees or bushes. Eggs., two, white, "85 x -67. 



This diminutive Pigeon frequents both pines and "hummocks," 

 lake-shores and old fields, and in some southern towns is a familiar 

 bird of the quieter streets. It is by no means shy, and runs before 

 one with quick, short steps and a graceful movement of the head. Oc- 

 casionally it holds its tail upright, giving it a peculiar bantamlike ap- 

 pearance. Its flight is short, and when on the wing it bears an odd 

 resemblance to a short-tailed Japanese kite. 



Its favorite roosting places are densely foliaged orange trees, and 

 frequently when the bird is hidden in their depths one may hear its 

 mellow, crooning coos uttered so softly that they float on the air as 

 though born of murmuring winds. 



1 322. Geotrygon martinica {Gmel.). Quail Dove. — Upper parts 

 rufous, with brilliant metallic reflections ; wings rufous : a wkite line beneath 

 the eye ; breast vinaceous ; belly white. L., 11-00 ; W., 6-20 ; T., 5-00 ; B., -50. 



Range. — Florida Keys and West Indies. 



Nest^ in trees. Eggs., two, ochraceous-white, 1-22 x -94 (Bendire). 



A West Indian species which occurs during the summer regularly, 

 but, so far as known, only in small numbers in the Florida Keys. 



The Quail Doves inhabit wooded districts, where they live on the 

 ground. Their flight is low and noiseless, and, according to my ex- 



