THE GROUND PIGEONS 2143 



is never met with in flocks, nor does it breed in communities. Its food consists of 

 small seeds, the principal part of its time being spent on the ground; and when 

 flushed it flies off in a straight line much like a quail. The nesting habits vary much 

 in different localities. In the Bahamas they have been found nesting in the fork of 

 a fallen tree about three feet from the ground, while other nests were in holes in 

 rocks. Among the islands at Indian Key, the nest is placed in a small hole scooped 

 in the sand, and is composed of dry leaves and twigs, with a matted inner lining of 

 blades of dry grass, the whole structure being more compact than that of other 

 pigeons. Writing of another South- American species (Z. auriculata) , distinguished 

 by having no white tips to the secondary flight feathers, Mr. Hudson says, that it 

 "is the commonest species of the pigeon tribe in the Argentine country, and is known 

 to every one as the ' Torcasa, ' probably a corruption of Tortola, or turtledove. In 

 autumn they often congregate in very large flocks, and are sometimes observed mi- 

 grating, flock succeeding flock, all traveling in a northerly direction, and continu- 

 ing to pass for several consecutive days. But these autumnal migrations are not 

 witnessed every year, nor have I seen any return migration in spring ; while the 

 usual autumn and winter movements are very irregular, and apparently depend al- 

 together on the supply of food. When the giant thistle has covered the plains in 

 summer, incredible numbers of torcases appear later in the season, and usually spend 

 the winter on the plains, congregating every evening in countless myriads wherever 

 there are trees enough to form a suitable roosting place. On bright warm days in 

 August, the sweet and sorrowful sob-like song of this dove, composed of five notes, is 

 heard from every grove a pleasing, soft, murmuring sound, which causes one to 

 experience, by anticipation, the languid summer feeling in his veins." 



A peculiar genus, Nesopelia, is represented by a single species, the 

 Galapagos pigeon (TV. galapagoensis) , restricted to the islands from 

 which it takes its name. This bird has the bill long and bent down- 

 ward, and the tail rather short, rounded, and composed of twelve feathers. 



Of the white- winged doves {Melopelia) two species are known, one 



inge from the Southwestern United States, Central America, and the West 

 Doves 



Indies, and the other from Peru and Chili. They are distinguished 



from the mourning doves by the absence of black spots on the wings, while there is 

 a white patch on the upper wing coverts. The northern species (M. leucoptera] 

 has a note bearing a close resemblance to the first efforts of a young cock attempt- 

 ing to crow, and this call is frequently uttered and in various keys. In Arizona, 

 toward the end of summer, this bird, which is by no means shy, collects in small 

 parties. 



The turtledoves (Turturince), of which a species is figured in the 

 Turtledoves 



cut on p. 2144, form the second subfamily of the ground pigeons, and 



include twenty-eight Old-World species belonging to one genus (Turtur), which 

 may be divided into five subgenera. They differ from the mourning doves in having 

 no black spot below the ear coverts, and the neck ornamented with a more or less 

 distinct dark collar, or with dark scale-like patches on the sides. In the first three 

 subgenera {Turtur, Homopelia, and Streptopelia} the feathers of the neck are normal, 

 in the fourth {Spilopelid} those of the hind-neck, and in the fifth {Stigmatopelia) 



