MOUNTAIN WITCH. 319 



came down to the lowlands : it was seen chiefly 

 in the evening, and its object so far from its moun- 

 tain home, was probably the search after water, 

 the weather being very dry. 



The relation which the development of the power 

 of flight or of walking, bears to the colour of the 

 flesh, is well shown by a comparison of this species 

 with the Bald-pate or Blue Pigeon. The flesh of 

 the tree dove is dark red; that of the Mountain 

 Witch is whiter than a chicken's : the former the 

 more juicy, the latter tender, but dry ; both are 

 delicious in flavour. 



Various seeds and nuts I have found in the giz- 

 zards of many that I have examined, some hard 

 and stony; others farinaceous, and comminuted. 

 The seed of the lance-wood is said to afford it 

 food. 



The Mountain Witch is generally spoken of as 

 rare, in the island; but I suspect the remoteness 

 and difficulty of access of its recluse solitudes, have 

 contributed to this opinion. Robinson gives Claren- 

 don as one of its localities : he says it is the most 

 beautiful pigeon in Jamaica. I should be inclined 

 to say " the most beautiful bird," if we except the 

 Long-tailed Humming-bird. 



I had been assured by intelligent men, very fami- 

 liar with these birds, that the Mountain Witch 

 lays in March, in the angle of the roots of a tree, 

 on the ground ; that the young leave the nest about 

 a week after they are hatched, and are led about 

 by the mother, who scratches for them in the man- 

 ner of a fowl. Some have declared that they have 



