MOURNING DOVE. 



CAROLINA DOVE. TURTLE DOVE. 

 Zenaidura MACROURA. 



Char. Above, grayish blue, deeper on the head, the back washed with 

 brownish olive ; sides of head and neck and under parts purplish red, 

 fading to buff on anal region ; sides of neck with metallic reflections ; 

 wing-coverts spotted with black ; tail with bar of black, outer feathers 

 broadly tipped with white. Length about 12^4 inches. 



Nest. In a tree or bush or on fence rail or rock, — a mere platform 

 rudely made of twigs. 



Eggs. 2-4 (usually 2); white; 1.15 X 0.S5. 



This almost familiar Pigeon in the course of the spring 

 leisurely migrates through the interior as far as to Canada, 

 though in the Eastern States it is rarely met with to the 

 north of Connecticut. Many appear sedentary in the warmer 

 States, where they breed as far south as Louisiana. They are 

 also said to inhabit the Antilles, and we saw them not uncom- 

 mon in the Territory of Oregon. In the warmer parts of the 

 Union they commence laying early in April, and in South 

 Carolina I heard their plaintive coo on the 29th of January ; 

 but at the extremity of their range they scarcely begin to 

 breed before the middle of May. They lay, as usual, two eggs, 

 of a pure white, and make their nest in the horizontal branches 

 of a tree. It is formed of a mere layer of twigs so loosely and 

 slovenly put together as to appear scarcely sufficient to pre- 

 vent the young from falling out. 



