54 INDIAN PIGEONS AND DOVES 
after a flock had visited and been frightened away from a grove, a 
large number of these little oranges were to be found lying under the 
trees ; and it really looked as if, after they had tasted the fruit and 
found it unpalatable, they had then set to work to mischievously 
destroy what they did not care to eat. 
They are rather shy birds, and if seated in scantily covered trees 
generally take to flight before one gets close enough for a shot, but 
if in very densely covered ones they often trust to the foliage screening 
their green bodies from view, and will remain where they are, absolutely 
still and silent, until the intruder departs, or curiosity gets the better 
of their nervousness, and they commence to move about in the endea- 
vour to get a better view of him. Beavan found them in Manbhum, 
feeding on the fruit of the nux vomica in company with other Pigeons. 
Their movements when feeding are very slow and methodical, 
and though they will occasionally fly from one part of a big tree to 
another, they usually make their way by climbing hand over hand— 
or I suppose one should say foot over foot—along the boughs and 
branches. They are quarrelsome birds, of course—all Pigeons and 
Doves are—and resent any other bird, Pigeon or other kind, coming 
too close to them as they feed. If thus disturbed they open their 
mouths wide and emit a sort of hissing croak ; and if this awe-inspiring 
sound is not sufficient to induce the other bird to go, they clamber 
up to within a foot or two of him, and then launch themselves at him, 
endeavouring to beat him over the head with their wings. They also 
peck one another freely, and will try to get a firm hold of the feathers 
of the other bird’s head ; and this once obtained, will shake and pull 
until the feathers come out, or the opponent gets in a smack with his 
wing hard enough to make the other leave go. I have often seen males 
in the early spring, when most of the fighting goes on, with their heads 
quite raw and bleeding ; but at the same time the most serious injuries 
are probably caused by blows with the shoulder of the wing, which 
are given with quite sufficient force to stun. 
They have quite a large range of conversational notes, covering 
much bad language, and not a little which we may hope to be good; 
but their ordinary notes are the sweet whistling ones common to 
all the Green Pigeons. Possibly the whistling of the Orange-headed 
Green Pigeon is not quite so melodious as that of some others, such 
as the Pin-tailed and Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon, but it is very sweet 
wine 
