266 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



Society purchased its first five specimens of this Dove 

 in 1870, and re.e-ived many others sqibse.quontly ; it 

 reached tin- Amsterdam Gardens in 1888. Being freely 

 imported, many private avienlturi<ts have owned it, 

 though I fancy ithe Mavtinican Dove i.< even better 

 known. Russ kei p s '/,. (nirimlutft and Z. niamlata 

 distinct in his work, and speaks of the latter as rare in 

 the mark 



GALAPAGAN DOVE (AV.<oy ; r//V/ t/n^i/idt/n n-<i.--.) 

 Upper surface brownish-olive ; scapulars and upper 

 wing-covens brown, each with two black spots, '.me on 

 each web; the centre of .the feathers often whitish; 

 outer we'.) of outer upper wing-i ovrts whitish; 

 primary-ooverta and flights l.iickish. the hitter with 

 narrow pale edges and tips; tail greyish-brown, with a 

 black subterminal band; forehead deep vinous; ear- 

 coverts silvery grev with a black edging above and 

 below; feathers of cheeks vinous edged with black; 

 sides of neck with golden and laacine reflections; 

 throat pale rufous, changing to deep vinous on the 

 breast; abdomen rns.v vinous: under tail-coverts grey, 

 more or less tinged with rusty ; under surface of nights 

 greyish: bill black; feat pink; irides d:irk brown; eye- 

 lids p : , a t her smaller and paler. Hab., 

 Galapagos Islands. 



i have i led in discovering any published 



nafcee on the wild life of this Dove. Four e.x'.i tuples were 

 London Zoological > 1893. 



WHITE-WINGKD ZKNAIDA DOVE (J/^/^Y/V/ li'iim^tera.) 



Upper surface, throat, and breast p.ilr -reyish 

 olivaceous brown; 'jack of head and nape somewhat 

 purplish ; the latter shot with golden-green; sides of 

 neck thot with golden-green and 111 ;; ,ad white 



belt on the wing, from the bend to the ti] reater 



coverts ; bastard wing, primary-coverts, and "flights 

 brownish-black; primaries narrowly edged with white: 

 secondaries margined with white 'at the tips; inner 

 secondaries brown like the back; central tail-feathers 

 rufous-brown; lateral feat! . broadly tipped with 



whitish-grey and with an ill-defined eubterminal blackish 

 band"; a spot of black below the ears; fchroal and upper 

 breast- tinged with ochreous; lower breast, a.bdomen, 

 under wing and tail-coverts p.de grey; 'lateral t.iil- 

 feia-tfoers below black with the 'broad tips <:r: \ish-white ; 

 bill black; feet pinkish puiplr; irides purple. Female 

 rather smaller and with scn.-ely a brace of purplish on 

 back of head and nape. Hab., "Southern border of the 

 United States, from Texas, Xev, Mexico, Ari/or.a. and 

 Lower California, southward to Costa Mica and the 

 \\ e-t [ndies " (iSaHvadori). 



J- (' Coope-r ("Ornithology of California," pp. 515, 

 516) says that : " Not much i.-. known of the habits of 

 this Dove." "According to Mr. March, the species is 



srregarious, sometimes coEecting in very large flocks. 

 The eggs are white, like those of all the pigeons; size 

 1.30 x 0.90." 



Major lieiidiro savs ("Life Hist.nies of North 

 American Birds," Vol. I., pp. 146. 147): "The mating 



rlv. usually about the middle of M; 



and the cooing and love-making of the male can be 

 h>ard ; " 1(l ny day during a stroll a mono- 



the shrubbery found along the borders of the v 

 courses, which .vein to be favourite resorts foi- manv 

 of the.-;' birds. 



"Their call no:, g are varied, much more BO than those 

 of any other species of this family found with us; they 

 are sonorous, pleading, and latl er musical. On this 

 account the natives keep many of them as cage-birds, 

 calling them Paloma cantador, Singing Dove. Thev 



become very gentle and reconciled to captivity, 

 feeding readily out of one's hand and allowing them- 



3 to be handled without fear. 



"One of their most c -tic call notes bears a 



dose resemblance t;> the fh>t efforts of a young cockerel 

 when attempting to crow, and this calf is frequently 

 uttered and in various keys. While thus engaged the 

 I en-former usually throws his wings upward and forward 

 above the head, and a-lso spreads his ta.il slightly. Some 

 other notes may be* translated into 'cook for you 

 'cook for two,' 'cook-kara-eoo,' besides a variety of 

 ctlls: one of 'these, a querulous harsh one, reset: 

 somewhai! the ^yil.ibles ehaa-haa.' " " Xklifie 

 usually begins in the latter part of April in southern 

 Arizona, and sometimes later The nests of the "\\ 

 winged Dove, like, these of most of the members oj 

 family, are as a rule rather frail structures, consisting 

 <:f a slight platform of small sticks and twigs intei 

 with each other, and lined more or less with bits of 

 old weeds, stems of me.Mjuite leaves, and dry gra 

 Mr. G. B. Sennett found a nest of this specie's made <u 

 ish mc'ps. Xo particuJar preference seems to be 

 shown for eeauun trci-.s. J have found many of my 

 ne-ts in mesjuite trees, the most abundant' in 

 locality; others were placed in walnut trees, willows. 

 and cnolla cactus, at various heighita from ;' 

 from 2A up to 30 feat.' "I bsdi.ve but one 

 usual ly_ raised in a season. A^ rear as I can ji< 

 incubation Basts a.iout eighteen days. The 

 relieves the fenrmle somewhat in (bests duties, 

 not assist to any great extent; he-, however, a-siduoui-ly 

 helps to ca.re for tlio young. 



" Their food consists of injects, small seeds, grain, if 



iirable, berries, mesquito beans, and the 'fruit of 



the sahuara cactus. f'/'t->'i/.< giganteus, which seems to 



be a favourite article of food with many birds in 



Arizona. 



" In the late summer these birds collect in small 

 parties, and I found them not at all shy. I have 

 frequently seen as many as a do/en feeding "among the 

 e;ivalry horses along the picket line in my camp, allow- 

 ing the men to walk within 10 feet of "them wit 

 flying off. 



" The eggs are generally two in number, seldom one. 

 They are mostly elliptical oval in shape that is. equal Iv 

 ronnded at each end : a few may be railed oval. Their 

 colour is a rich creamy tint when fresh, and readily 

 perceptible then, but in many specimens, especially in 

 such as were considerably advanced in incubation when 

 taken, this delicate tint fades, in time leaving the 

 a dull white." 



Mr. C. F. Underwood, writing on the birds of the 

 Volcano of Miravalles (TJir Ibis, 1896. p. 447). sa 

 "Very common by the roadside, where they can be 

 seen in flocks feeding on the ground, at which times I 

 have got as manv as a dozen at a shot." 



Russ asserts that hitherto it has only existed alive 

 in the Amsterdam Zoological Gardens ;*-he overlooks the 

 fact that the London Zoological Society received two 

 specimens in exchange in June. 1874. 



This Dove was bred in captivity by Miss Rosie Alder- 

 son in May-July. 19C2. who published an account of her 

 success iii 7 T /M' Arlniltiiral Mm/azuu'. First Series, 

 Vol. VIII. , pp. 295-297. 



Sub-family Turturinae. 



We must now proceed to the typical Turtle Doves, 

 birds generally admitted to be more easily bred than 

 any other Coliimbrv. and capable of producing among 

 themselves fertile hybrids to almost any extent ; I can 



