296 FEATHERED FRIENDS. 



and the two birds were introduced to each other, I 

 saw that it was not, but a male, and a fine one, too. 



As the new-comer was the bigger and evidently the 

 stronger of the two, the Indian soon got the worst of 

 the combat which, I must say, he provoked ; but after 

 the battle, which was short, sharp and decisive, the 

 birds agreed to divide the aviary between them, each 

 occupying one half without trespassing upon the terri- 

 tory of his rival, except for a few minutes at feeding- 

 time, when a few grunts and angry flaps of the wing 

 were generally exchanged. 



After a time I had had enough of the Green-winged 

 Pigeons' society, and sent them away, Australian and 

 Indian, nor have I had any of either species since. 



I am surprised these birds are not more frequently 

 imported, and consequently kept in aviaries, than they 

 are, for they are perfectly hardy, and did not appear 

 to suffer the slightest inconvenience from the weather, 

 even during the exceptionally severe winter of 1888-9, 

 which they passed in one of my out- door aviaries. 



Russ, in his "Handbook for Bird-fanciers," states 

 that some Indian Green-winged Pigeons produced young 

 ones in his aviary, and he gives them a good character 

 for general amiability; he also lauds their personal 

 beauty, and considers them to be as hardy as they are 

 gentle and uninterfering. He adds that the young re- 

 semble their parents from the first but their plumage is 

 duller, and the metallic reflections on it not so apparent 



