FOR CAGES AND AVIARIES. 45 



reared in the same hole in which the first were 

 hatched, although that may be resorted to in the following 

 season. 



Dry leaves are occasionally used to line the nesting 

 cavity, which may extend down into the hole of a tree to 

 a depth of a foot or more. 



The food is the same as that of the Ringdove. 



The Turtle Dove (Turtur communis, Sib.). 



This is the smallest of our native Pigeons, only measuring 

 from ii to 12 inches from point of beak to end of tail; 

 it is also of more slender form than the others, and rarely 

 attains to a greater weight than 6 ounces, while the 

 female is somewhat less. 



It is a very handsome bird, with a good deal of bronzed 

 metallic tinting on the back and wings ; the top of the 

 head, sides, and lower abdomen are greyish-blue, and the 

 breast has a subdued reddish-fawn tint ; the tail is black 

 except the tips of the inner feathers, which are white. 



On each side of the neck is a round patch of black 

 feathers tipped with white, which forms a conspicuous 

 feature, almost as noticeable as the "ring" of the Wood 

 Quest or the "collar" of the Barbary Turtle. 



It is a bird of passage, arriving here in April, or if the 

 season is a backward one, not till May, and departing in 

 August or September. As the males precede the females 

 by a week or more, it is presumable that they only pair 

 for the season, and all the romantic superstructure built 

 by the poets on their supposed unswerving fidelity to each 

 other falls to the ground. 



The nest is not built with any more skill than that of 

 the other Pigeons, but is well concealed among leaves and 

 young growth. The eggs are considerably elongated, and 

 are white, hatching in about seventeen days. The young 

 are -not difficult to rear by hand on soaked seeds of 

 different kinds, but seldom become thoroughly tame. There 

 is usually only one brood, but sometimes two occur in 

 the season, and if the second nest is disturbed the birds 

 do not, as a rule, attempt a third. 



