ABERRANT TURTLE-DOVES. 



275 



friend Mr. D. Seth-Smith gave me a male which is 

 still living as I write in 1909. 



It is not clear when 'this species was first acquired by 

 the London Zoological 'Society, but it was bred in the 

 Gardens at Regent's Park in 1861, 1862, 1863 and 1865, 

 and many others in later years, the last recorded in 

 .the 9th edition of the " List of Animals " having been 

 bred in 1892. 



CAMBAYAN TURTLE-DOVE (Turtur cambayensis). 



Differs from the preceding- species in the absence of 

 any reddish tinge from the upper parts, which are of a 

 more uniform palle earthy brown colour ; the ruimp is 

 also never pure ibluish, but uniform with the back, 

 though more or less blue on the sides. Hafo., " Con- 

 stantinople', where probably it has been introduced, 

 and Asia, Minor, to Turkestan and Central India " 

 (Salvadori). 



Hume observes ("Nests and Eggs," Vol. II., p. 351 

 and 353) : " The Brown Turtle- Dove breeds pretty wedl 

 all over the plains of India and in the outer ranges of 

 the Himalayas to an elevation of 4,000 or 5,000 feet. 



" The earliest nest I ever obtained was at Etawah on 

 the 1st January, and the latest at Agra on the 2nd 

 August-; the first contained one, the second two fresh 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



"The nest is a very slight one, commonly placed in 

 low trees or shrubs, often thorny t-nes, at no 'great 

 height from the ground, bxtt occasionally about the 

 roofs or in niches of buildings. The nest is ^composed 

 of thin twigs, grass-stems, and sometimes a root or two, 

 but has no lining. 



" They build at times in palms. I have found several 

 nests of this species in the bristling crowns of young 

 -wild date-trees (Phoenix sylvestris). 



" They have certainly two broods, and often, I think, 

 three, in the same nest, successively. 



"Two is the regular ccmpilement of eggs, but I have 

 very often found only one incubated, or a single young 

 bird in a nest. 



" These eggs are, as usual, pure white and commonly 

 very glossy. They vary comparatively little ,in shape, 

 though a good deal in size, and are typically rather 

 broad, nearly perfect ovals. Although in all this family 

 the size of the egg varies greatOy, those of this species 

 are, as a body, smaller than those of T '. pulchrala, 

 ChalcopJiaps indica, and T '. euratensis, but about the 

 same eize as those of T. tranquebaricus. They are a 

 very pure white, sdldom, if ever, exhibiting that 

 creamy tinge typical of T '. tranquebaricus and not un> 

 common in T '. risorius. 



"In length the eggs vary from 0.88 to 1.18, and in 

 breadth from 0.75 to 0.9 ; but the average of forty eggs 

 is 1.01 barely by 0.86 full." 



Mr. T. H. Newman has possessed this species, and 

 has recorded its period of incubation as fifteen days 

 (cf. The Avicultural Magazine, Second Series, Vol. II., 

 j>. 211). The London Zoological Society acquired two 

 specimens on June llth, 1901. 



The next two subfamilies have been popularly known 

 as Ground-Doves, but they are far more arboreal than 

 terrestrial in their habits ; only flying to the ground to 

 feed as many other Doves do; therefore, in my little 

 work, " How to Sex Cage-Birds," I proposed to treat 

 them as aberrant Turtle-Doves and Metal-spotted 

 "Turtle-Doves, which I think is much better. 



ABERRANT TURTLE-DOVES 

 (Sub-family Geopeliinse). 



In these birds the wings are rounded, the primaries 

 not being much longer than the inner secondaries ; the 

 tail is rather 'long, and consists of from twelve to 

 fourteen feathers ; the tarsi are sealed in front. In 

 captivity they may be treated in the same manner as 

 Turtle-doves ; they are far more quarrelsome. 



BAR-SHOULDERED DOVE (Geopelia humeralis). 



The adult bird has the forehead almost to the centre 

 cf the crown, the sides of the head, front of neck and 

 breast bluish-ash, the chin and throat paler, almost 

 white ; the centre and back of crown to the nape greyish 

 dusky brown, each feather with a, paOe subterminal and 

 black terminal band; back of neck and mantle bright 

 cinnamon, each feather with black tip ; back, rump, 

 upper tail-coverts, wing-coverts, inner secondaries, and 

 tertiaries olivaceous, shading into greyish-brown, each 

 feather with black terminal crescentic bar ; primaries 

 blaokish-brown, the inner web widely chestnut except- 

 ing towards the extremity ; secondaries olivaceous 

 brown, the inner webs somewhat chestnut in tint ; tail 

 greyish brown in the centre, becoming gradually more 

 and more chocolate and white tipped to the outermost 

 feathers ; hind breast and) front of abdomen delicately 

 washed lilac, becoming more cinnamon on the flanks 

 where they overlap the bend of the wing; abdomen, 

 vent, and under tail-coverts, white ; sides of abdomen 

 washed with greyish lilac ; bill slaty bluish, paler to- 

 wards the tip ; feet- flesh pink ; naked skin round eye 

 mealy lavender ; iris ochre yellow. The female is 

 slightly smaller than the male (but there is a good 

 deal of variation in size in the males) ; her breast is of 

 a darker and duller grey colour. Hab., Australia, 

 excepting in the soiith-west, and in Southern New 

 Guinea. 



Gould says of this bird : " As the structure of its legs 

 would indicate, it passes much of its time on the 

 ground, feeding on the seeds of various kinds of grasses 

 and leguminous plants. Not only is it one of the most 

 elegant of 'the Dove tribe inhabiting Australia, but it is 

 also one of the most tame and docile, if I may judge 

 from the few I observed on the heated plains of New 

 'South Wales. Their confidence was such that they 

 sometimes perched within two yards of the spot where 

 I was sitting. Extreme thirst and a, scanty supply of 

 water may, however, have rendered them more tame or 

 bold than they otherwise would have been." 



In its wild staite this bird breeds in August, making a 

 flimsy nest of thin twigs on the lower leaves of 

 Pandanus ; two white eggs are laid. 



In December, 1896, I purchased a pair of this species, 

 the female of which lived e'xactly -a year, dying on the 

 8th December, 1897. In April, 1898, I purchased a sup- 

 posed female a bird decidedlly smaller than my ma-le 

 and turned the two into an aviary apart from, other 

 doves, as I found the cock Bar-shouldered Dove a perfect 

 tyrant towards all other Oolumbce. Gould states that 

 the female is smail'ler than the male, but he should have 

 said than some males, for it soon became evident, from 

 the manner in which the larger bird tormented and 

 pluicked the smaller, that both were cocks; indeed, 

 after I had separated them they would constantly call 

 to each other, both cooing exactly alike a song which 



