44 BIRDS OF THE PAPAGO SAGUARO NATIONAL MONUMENT. 



a barbed wire fence or a clothes line, with long tail hanging down perfectly 

 plumb, or marching around in a combative manner with tail erect at right 

 angles to the body, or rushing around busily and hurriedly, not to say greedily, 

 feeding with the chickens in the back yard, it shows a decided individuality 

 and arouses interest and affection. If I could transport to my California 

 home the Bendire thrashers to sing to me and the Inca doves to amuse me I 

 would surely do it. 



I have never seen them far from dwellings or barns, and even in nesting 

 they show a decided preference for human company. They feed in yards with 

 poultry, perch on back-yard fences, and seem as much part of the establish- 

 ment as the woodpile. They are rather dainty in their drinking, rarely using 

 the chickens' drinking vessel, but perching on the hydrant and catching the 

 drops of water as they leak from the pipe. To do this they nearly "have to 

 stand on their heads, but that does not bother them at all. They eat wheat 

 and other small grains but draw the line at corn, it probably being too large 

 for them to swallow. At our house we always include rations for the Incas 

 when ordering wheat for the poultry. 



These little doves are with us the year through, and their hard metallic 

 little coo can be heard every month in the year, though most in evidence during 

 the breeding season. As I write this, I can hear the " coo-coo " which gives 

 them their Pima name of coo-coo. The call is much in evidence also during the 

 heat of July and August, at which trying time people with nerves complain of 

 the constant noise they make, which begins early in the morning and ends 

 late in the evening. There is an insistent, persevering quality about the calling 

 that is quite impressive, and when a lot of them keep at it some people sit up 

 and take notice. They are numerous, too, as I have counted more than 20 

 feeding with about a dozen chickens in a small yard. 



The Inca dove could never have inspired the term " dove of peace," as they 

 are pugnacious to a fault and fight like little fiends. Two of them will face 

 each other with one wing on guard, held straight above the body; then close 

 in and mix it, buffeting with wings till the sound of the blows is audible at a 

 distance of 50 yards. The bill is also used with bloody results about the head. 

 I have been told that one will sometimes kill the other, but never saw such an 

 extreme case. When arranging for a fight, the combatants utter a sort of 

 growl, if it may be so described : a very guttural, anger-expressing sound. In 

 animated talk, gossip perhaps, they excitedly utter sounds something like "cut- 

 cut-ca-doo-ca-doo." In all, quite a vocabulary is at their command. In motion 

 they are quick and lively, and have the same jerky flight as do the ground 

 doves; 



The nests of these doves are nearly always placed near a dwelling or a barn. 

 I have never seen a nest more than 100 yards from a building of some 

 kind, and many of them are as close as they can find a tree in which to build. 

 A row of umbrella trees close to a dwelling has for three years been a favorite 

 place for nests, and also a row of cottonwood trees along the front yard. 

 These two kinds of trees are most frequently used, probably on account of their 

 nearness to houses. Mesquite trees and fruit trees are also drawn on for home- 

 steads. The nest is a little more elaborate than that of the two large doves and 

 shows more of a depression or cup in the center. Rootlets, twigs, grass, and 

 leaf stems are materials used in the construction. The birds are generally 

 quite tame on the nest, rarely flying off till the intruder comes closer than arm's 

 length. I have placed my hand as close as 10 inches to a brooding bird, but 

 have never quite been able to pet one on the nest. They are so accustomed to 

 human presence that the broken-wing subterfuge is rarely resorted to. The 



