714 



Creatfurg of Natural fft 



considered in a commercial view, it is of 



I little or no value, except that it affords 



! some oil, which may be used for lamps, &c. 



j It is distinguished by having fifteen, instead 



of thirteen, dorsal segments, or scutella ; 



each of the scutella in the middle dorsal 



range being extremely protuberant at the 



end, rising into a subacute prominence, and 



| thus forming a row of tubercles along the 



I back of the shield. The fore feet are very 



1 large and long ; the hind feet short but 



! broad. 



I It is well known that the different kinds 



of great Marine Tortoises, or Turtles, at 



! their appointed times every year, deposit 



i their eggs in the sand, on the shores of the 



I sea, and banks of rivers where the strand is 



! gently declivous. There the females hollow 



| out a strong vaulted nest, wherein the eggs 



(amounting to a hundred laid at one time) 



may have the benefit of the concentrated 



rays of the sun, so as to enjoy an equable 



heat, as in the case of eggs under a sitting 



hen. The shell of these eggs is generally 



solid, and their form globular, or nearly so. 



! TUIITLE - DOVE. (Columba Turtur.) 

 Tins species of the Columbidkn family 

 whose gentle and soothing accents when 

 " coojng " to its mate, combined with its 

 general deportment, have caused it to be re- 

 garded as the most perfect emblem of con- 

 nubial attachment arrives in this country 

 late in the spring, and departs about the 

 latter end of August ; during which time 





TDRTLK DOVE. (COLUMBA TURTDK.) 



: the birds pair, breed, and rear their young. 

 i In warmer climates, however, they are sup- 

 | posed to breed several times in the year. In 

 ; length the Turtle-dove is rather more than 

 twelve inches : bill brown, eyes yellow, en- 

 compassed with a crimson circle ; top of the 

 ! head ash gray, mixed with olive ; each side 

 ! of the neck is marked with a spot of black 

 i feathers, tipped with white ; the back is ash 

 , gray, each feather margined with reddish 

 brown ; wing coverts and scapulars reddish 

 i brown, spotted with black ; quill feathers 

 ! dusky, edges pale ; the fore part of the neek 

 ! and the breast are light purplish red : the 

 j belly, thighs, and vent white ; the two middle 

 , feathers of the tail brown, the others dusky, 

 j tipped With white, the two outermost also 

 edged with the same : legs red. The Tur- 

 tle-dove frequents the thickest and most 

 sheltered parts of the woods, where it builds 

 on the highest trees ; and the female gene- 

 rally lays two eggs. 



The AMERICAN TUKTLE-DOVE, or CARO- 

 LINA PIGEON (ColumbaCaroHiieiisis'), is thus 

 spoken of by Wilson : " This is a favourite 

 bird with all those who love to wander among 

 our woods in spring, and listen to their 

 varied harmony. They will there hear many 

 a sprightly performer ; but none so mournful 

 as this. The hopeless woe of settled sorrow, 

 swelling the heart of female innocence itself, 

 could not assume tones more sad, more tender 

 and affecting. Its notes are four [Mr. Gosse 

 says ./we] ; the first is somewhat the highest 

 and preparatory, seeming to be uttered with 

 an inspiration of the breath, as if the afflicted 

 creature were just recovering its voice from 

 the last convulsive sobs of distress ; this is 

 followed by three long, deep, and mournful 

 meanings, that no person of sensibility can 

 listen to without sympathy. A pause of a 

 few minutes ensues, and again the solemn 

 voice of sorrow is renewed as before. This 

 is generally heard in the deepest shaded 

 parts of the woods, frequently about noon, 

 and towards the evening. There is, however, 

 nothing of real distress in all this; quite the 

 reverse. The bird who utters it wantons by 

 the side of his beloved partner, or invites 

 her by his call to some favourite retired and 

 shady retreat. It is the voice of love, of 

 faithful connubial affection, for which the 

 whole family of doves are so celebrated ; 

 and, among them all, none moredeservingly 

 so than the species now before us." Our 

 author then describes it as a general inha- 

 bitant, in summer, of the United States, 

 from Canada to Florida, and from the sea- 

 coast to the Mississippi, and far to the west- 

 w_ard. Their flight, lie observes, is quick, 

 vigorous, and always accompanied by a pe- 

 culiar whistling of the wings, by which they 

 can easily be distinguished from the wild 

 pigeon. The nest is very rudely constructed, 

 generally in an evergreen, among the thick 

 foliage of a viue. in an orchard, on the hori- 

 zontal branches of an apple-tree, and, in 

 some cases, on the ground. It is composed 

 of a handful of small twigs, laid with little 

 art, on which are scattered dry fibrous roots 

 of plants ; and in this almost flat bed are 

 deposited two eggs of a snowy whiteness. 

 The male and female unite in feeding the 

 young, and they have rarely more than two 

 broods in the same season. 



The American Turtle-dove is twelve 

 inches long, and seventeen inches in extent ; 

 bill black ; eye of a glossy blackness, sur- 

 rounded with a pale greenish-blue skin ; 

 crown, upper part of the neck and wings, a 

 fine silky slate blue ; back, scapulars, and 

 lesser wing-coverts, ashy brown ; tertials, 

 spotted with black ; primaries, edged and 

 tipped with white ; forehead, sides of the 

 neck, and breast, a pale brown vinous orange; 

 under the ear-feathers, a spot or drop of deep 

 black ; immediately below which the plu- 

 mage reflects the most vivid tints of green, 

 gold, and crimson ; chin, pale yellow ochre ; 

 belly and vent, whitish ; legs and feet, coral 

 red, seamed with white ; the tail is long and 

 cuneiform, consisting of fourteen feathers ; 

 the four exterior ones, on each side, are 

 marked with black, about an inch from the 

 tips, and white thence to the extremity ; the 



