THE C A MB AY AN TURTLE. 271 



ruffled feathers, except when they were eating or fight- 

 ing, which they did pretty frequently, so that in spite 

 of their handsome appearance they were presently voted 

 uninteresting if not, indeed, a nuisance, and got rid of 

 at the first opportunity. 



As it afterwards proved, I acted too hastily in the 

 matter, and had plenty of leisure to lament my precip- 

 itancy before I got another bird of the same kind. After 

 a while, however, I happened to hear of one that was 

 for disposal and secured it. 



It turned out to be a male, and a remarkably fine 

 one, too. It was summer when he arrived, and, not- 

 withstanding my unfortunate experience with the Wood 

 Pigeons and the Turtle Doves, of which I have already 

 related the history, I turned him out at once into the 

 further aviary, which was then occupied, among others, 

 by a pair of Indian Green-winged Pigeons whose adven- 

 tures I reserve for a subsequent chapter, and, on the 

 whole, he behaved a great deal better than might have 

 been expected. 



True, he commenced by attacking the Green cock, 

 and when that poor creature had been utterly discom- 

 fited, the Cambayan began to make love to the Green 

 hen, which discouraged his advances by every means 

 in her power, striking at him with her wing whenever 

 he attempted to go near her and uttering the most in- 

 dignant remonstrances that in my ears sounded like the 

 syllable, "Hoof, hoof", rapidly repeated, but which 



