412 BRITISH BIRDS. 



known as passing through on migration; but a considerable number 

 remain to breed, especially in Algeria. It is extremely common in summer 

 in the Canaries, but is only occasionally found in Madeira. The winter- 

 quarters of the Turtle-Dove are absolutely unknown; but as it passes 

 through North Africa, and has not been found in South Af rica, they must 

 be in some unknown region in the centre of that continent. 



A desert form of the Turtle-Dove, Turtur isabellinus, is a summer visitor 

 to North-east Africa, and differs from our bird in having the wings only 

 six instead of seven inches long, and the head huffish brown instead of 

 bluish grey. In South-west Siberia the Turtle-Dove is replaced by a very 

 nearly allied species, T. f err ago, which occurs together with our bird in 

 Turkestan, and with another allied species, T. orient alls, in India, the 

 latter being its representative in South-east Siberia, China, and Japan. 

 T. f err ago differs from our bird in being larger, in having the tips of the 

 feathers on the sides of the neck slaty blue instead of nearly white, 

 and the colour of the breast much less vinaceous. In T. orientalis the 

 colour of the breast more closely resembles that of our bird, but the under 

 tail-coverts and the pale tips of the tail-feathers are pale slate-grey instead 

 of white. The East-Siberian bird appears to be only subspecifically distinct 

 from the West-Siberian bird, as intermediate forms occur in India, where 

 the range of these two forms overlap. In Turkestan, where the range of 

 the West-Siberian bird overlaps that of the European bird, it is not known 

 that any intermediate forms occur between them. 



The Turtle-Dove is one of the latest summer visitors to this country, 

 sometimes arriving during the last days of April, but more frequently not 

 until the first week of May. At Gibraltar its migration lasts from the 

 middle of April to the middle of May, the great body crossing the Straits 

 during the first week of the latter month. In Greece and Asia Minor the 

 period of the spring migration is the same. Its departure from the British 

 Islands usually takes place in September ; but individuals are occasionally 

 met with much later. 



The Turtle-Dove is very careful to conceal its nest, and breeds only 

 in districts that afford it plenty of cover. It is very partial to dense 

 game- coverts and plantations, and loves the more open districts if the 

 hedges are tall and thick. It also frequents parks and pleasure-grounds, 

 and is commonly met with in close shrubberies. Soon after their arrival 

 the woods and groves are full of their soft note, which is a rich low 

 coor-r-r-coor-r-r, prolonged for some time and often modulated in different 

 ways. In cultivated districts it is a very timid bird, and at the least 

 alarm seeks safety amongst the trees, where, when perched, it is ever 

 looking anxiously from side to side as if fearful of an enemy's approach ; 

 but it is a very easy bird to shoot when feeding in open country where it 

 is not molested. 



