208 INDIAN PIGEONS AND DOVES 
tried to express by the words “ oot-raow-oo oot-raow-oo0,” and others 
by the syllables ‘‘ ku-krroo-ku,” repeated two or three times. 
During the heat of the day and also in the early mornings and 
evenings in Bengal they resort much to the mango-groves which are to 
be found in the vicinity of most villages, and during these hours the 
place is full of the melody of their calls, for they are by no means sparing 
of their voice. When disturbed on the ground they rise very straight 
into the air for a few feet, making a great fluster and clapping of wings 
in so doing, and then flap quickly away with tail widespread so as to 
show the white on each side. Once well off the wing-beats are few 
and the tail-feathers less spread, but the flight is seldom continued far. 
A pair of these Doves once built in the verandah of my house, 
selecting the top of one of the verandah pillars for their nesting-site, 
and soon became so tame that they would not move more than a foot 
or two out of the way of the servants and others using the verandah. 
Both birds would come down to the table when the dish-washer was 
carrying on his work, and feed on any of the scraps thrown to them 
as his duties proceeded. I noticed then that these Doves, by nature 
almost entirely grain and seed feeders, would eat almost anything 
thrown to them—bread, potatoes, cabbage, and indeed almost any- 
thing but meat and fish. 
They were a most loving little couple, and in the rare intervals 
when they had no eggs to hatch or greedy young ones to attend, they 
always roosted close side by side on the top of the pillar next the one 
on which was their nest. 
Cripps and others say that this bird never uses the same nest twice, 
but this pair used the same many times, of course repairing it on 
each occasion, but never starting a new one, though there were many 
other verandah pillars quite as convenient. As parents both birds 
were equally excellent and attentive, sharing all duties fairly, in addi- 
tion to which the cock-bird was very attentive to his little wife, often 
taking her up special dainties from the table below. 
They are very easy birds to keep in confinement, and though they 
quarrel very badly amongst themselves or with other Doves, are not 
so pugnacious with other birds. They are also much more active and 
interesting than the Green Pigeons, and breed freely, even if kept in 
comparatively small cages. 
The Indians feed them principally on suttoo, a mixture of meal and 
