276 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



has a most impudent, conceited sound, a-hooey, huchoo, 

 the ch sounded rather hard ; indeed, the latter part of 

 the call has been mistaken for that of a Cuckoo. 



I tried my old cock bird with a hen Necklaced Dove, 

 but had to remove her to save her life. I then placed 

 him in my Weaver aviary for a, year or two, and 

 eventually turned out both corks with a pair of Half- 

 roll ared Turtle-Doves in a fowl-run, from which they 

 finally escaped into the garden and were never re- 

 covered. 



With a genuine pair in a good-sized garden aviary I 

 should anticipate no difficulty in breeding this species. 

 It was first, purchased by the London Zoological Society 

 in 1868, and was bred three, times the same year, five 

 young ones resulting from the three nests; two more 

 were bred in tin' year l'<. ; ilo\\ inu'. 



PEACEFUL DOVE (Geoprlia tranquilla). 



Upper surface ashy-brown, each feather barred with 

 black at the extremity ; the bastard wing and primaries 

 dark brown; shoulders below chestnut; the face and 

 throat are grey ; the breast, sides, and back of neck 



PEACEFUL DOVE. 



grey, narrowly barred with black ; abdomen and flanks 

 vinous ; the four central tail feathers ashy -brown ; the 

 remainder black, broadly tipped with white ; the bill 

 and orbits bright greyish-blue, the iris of the eye bright 

 ash-grey ; the legs greenish-grey in front, reddish flesh- 

 coloured behind. The length of this bird is 8| inches. 

 The female is smaller, less slender, and less alert than 

 the male. Hab., Australia. 



Mr. Gould says that this bird is " chiefly observed on 

 the ground, feeding on the seeds of various plants under 

 the shelter of thinly-timbered forests bordering plains." 

 A local variety of the above which only differs from 

 it in size, being nearly a third smaller is Gcopelia 

 /ilac'uhi, a small Dove abundantly and evenlv distri- 

 buted over the Cobang Peninsula and the neighbouring 

 islands. Its favourite haunts, Mr. Gould says, are 

 " moist meadows or the grassy banks of small streams " ; 

 it feeds principally on the seeds of grasses, and is seen 

 " in flocks of from twenty to fifty, which, when dis- 

 turbed, generally fly to the nearest tree. On alighting 

 they jerk the tail very erect, and utter a slowly-repeated 

 and monotonous double note ; at other times they coo 

 very faintly." 



I think I purchased my first pair of this pretty little 

 Dove in 1891, and I found them singularly dull in their 



behaviour ; far from spending the greater part of their 

 time on the ground, they never left a branch excepting 

 to feed, and were toy no means large eaters. In. spi; 

 their usually seeking for their food on the ground, the 

 species of Q-eopelia, when kept in aviaries, spend more 

 time in the branches cooing, bowing, and preening one 

 another's feathers; at any rate, that is my experience 

 of them. 



A pair of Zebra Doves which I purchased in 1895 

 made things '.so uncomfortable for my first pair of Peace- 

 ful Doves that the cock died, and 1 had to remove the 

 hen, which died in April, 1896; a second pair bought 

 that year I put in the next aviary, where the cock liv; 1 ;! 

 until August, 1901, but the hen died earlier. I bought 

 a third pair in 1896, and lost the hen in January, 1898. 

 The hens of all these Doves seem more delicate than, 

 the cocks. 



Being kept from first to last in indoor aviaries, i 

 of these birds made any attempt to breed ; but, in an 

 outdoor aviary, I believe there is no difficulty in multi- 

 plying them. 



Tins species actually -is the most peaceful of its gemiis : 

 as the name "Peaceful" has been applied to it. 

 naturally expected it to be one of the most vicious < t" 

 all Doves, the names applied to birds being i 

 descriptive either of their true characters or colours. If 

 a bird is called "All-green," it is sure to have about 

 half-a-dozen colours in its plumage ; if it is spoken of 

 as " Indigo," it is a combination of cobalt, ultramarine, 

 and green ; if it is said to be " Ultramarine," it is indigo, 

 sometimes with a greenish tinge ; if " Scarlet," it is sure 

 to be vivid carmine, and so on ; then, as I have pointed 

 out more than once, the so-called Ground-birds are fre- 

 quently far more arboreal than terrestrial ; the reputed 

 songsters (like the Melodious Finch) have the barest 

 apology for a song 'indeed, I don't consider that our 

 Song-Thrush is a singer ; it is rather a talker, and 

 (though cheerful and bright) wearies one at times with 

 its four-times repeated utterances. 



The London Zoological Society acquired this Dove 

 first in 1864. and recorded it in the "List " as Geopdin 

 plarida, distinguishing it from G. tranquilla, supposed 

 to be first received four years later. It is a very freely 

 imported bird, and used to be readily purchasable at 

 about 5s. the pair. 



ZEBRA DOVE (Geopelia striata}. 



The general resemblance of this bird to the preceding. 

 is so great that it will, perhaps, be most useful to point, 

 out the chief distinctive features. The back of the 

 crown is somewhat redder ; the black and white bands 

 crossing the neck only extend over the sides of the 

 breast ; the feet are vinous or purplish-red ; the bill 

 .slaty-black, the iris brown. The female is smaller than 

 the male, and shows less reddish tinting on the crown. 

 Hab., Southern Tenasserim, the Malay Peninsula, and 

 Indo-Malayan Archipelago; from the Philippines south- 

 ward to Lomibo'ck, the Celebes, and Ainboyna. It has 

 been introduced into the Seychelles, Madagascar. Mauri- 

 tius, Round Island, Reunion, and St. ^Helena. 



Writing respecting the nests and eggs of Philippine 

 birds (The Ibi*, 1898. p. 246), Mr. Ogilvie Grant thus 

 describes the egg of G. striata: " Shape perfect oval. 

 Pure glossy while. Measurements 27 mm. x 21 mm." 

 Mr. J. White-head also describes the nidification as fol- 

 lows : " This species nests in the lower growths of old 

 forests, the frail nest of twigs being often placed among- 

 the hanging creepers. Genera.! I v two eggs are laid." 



In The Tin* for 1899, p. 492, Mr. Whitehead says 

 that this Dove " is often kept as a cage-bird throughout 

 the Malay Islands." This species, unlike its near rela- 

 tive, G. tranquilla. is quarrelsome and spiteful. I pur- 

 chased a pair in 1895, and after they had made them- 



