42 BIRDS OF THE PAPAGO SAGUARO NATIONAL MONUMENT. 



quently be observed in garden shrubbery or perched on fences or 

 electric wires. 



The cooing of the white-wing is quite lacking in the melancholy 

 dignity of the mourning dove's notes. There is, on the contrary, 

 in the laboriously pumped-up tootling of the white-wing a touch 

 of the ridiculous that is sure to strike one at first acquaintance. 

 Later on, through interminable reiteration, it becomes commonplace 

 and monotonous, for the birds are most abundant and are assiduous 

 musicians. P. L. Jouy states 1 that in Mexico its doleful song has 

 been transposed by some poetical genius into the following refrain : 



Tu! Tu! 

 Que quieres? 

 Que quieres? 

 Quiero tu ! Quiero tu ! 

 You! you! What do I want? I want (or love) you! I love you! 



Besides this long and elaborate refrain there is a short and em- 

 phatic call note, sometimes repeated over and over again at frequent 

 intervals. This has been translated as, " Who cooks for you ", a ques- 

 tion given with rather insulting emphasis. 



In nesting habits the white- wing is much like the mourning dove as 

 regards structure of nest and choice of building site. It does, how- 

 ever, show a decided preference for mesquite, far more nests being 

 placed in this plant than in any other. Cottonwoods and willows 

 are not uncommonly used, while an occasional nest may be found in 

 other trees or shrubs where they provide sufficient shelter. 



The birds, as a rule, arrive in southern Arizona about the third 

 week of April. Oilman gives the date of arrival at Sacaton as 

 April 20, while I found a bird sitting on eggs near Tucson as early 

 as April 13. The eggs are two in number, and are for the most 

 part laid during the period from the middle of May until the end of 

 June, occasionally in July. In August the white-wings begin to 

 scatter from their nesting grounds, and at this season may be found 

 in loosely associated flocks in the live oaks of the foothills, at a 

 far higher altitude than that at which they breed. During Septem- 

 ber they leave, and by the 1st of October are nearly all gone. 



The food of the white- winged dove is described by Oilman (Con- 

 dor, XIII, 1911, p. 52) as follows : 



Their coming is coincident with the ripening of the berries of the wild jujube, 

 ZisypJwts lycioides, upon which they feed greedily as long as the fruit lasts, 

 consuming both ripe and green. . . . They come in such great numbers that 

 the wheat fields suffer and the loss is considerable. 



In addition to the wheat, these doves feed on other grains and much weed 

 seed. They are very fond of sorghum seed, and large flocks gather on a field 

 of this plant. The giant cactus (Cereus giganteus) furnishes them a large 



i Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XVI, 1893, p. 789. 



