EARLY SPRING IN SAVERNAKE FOREST 89 



almost superseded the plain single note, which 

 has diminished to a mere murmur ; in others, on 

 the contrary, there is no song at all, unless the 

 single unvarying coo can be called a song. In most 

 species in the typical genus Columba the plain coo 

 is quite distinct from the set song, but has at the 

 same time developed into a kind of second song, 

 the note being pleasantly modulated and repeated 

 many times. We find this in the rock- dove : the 

 curious guttural sounds composing its set song, 

 which accompnay the love antics of the male, are 

 not musical, while the clear inflected cooing note 

 is agreeable to most ears. It is a pleasing morning 

 sound of the dove-cote ; but the note, to be properly 

 appreciated, must be heard in some dimly lighted 

 ocean-cavern in which the bird breeds in its wild state. 

 The long-drawn, oft-repeated musical coo mingles 

 with and is heard above the murmuring and lapping 

 of the water beneath ; the hollow chamber retains 

 and prolongs the sound, and makes it more sonorous, 

 and at the same time gives it something of mystery. 

 Of all the cooing notes of the different species 

 I am acquainted with, that of the stock- dove, a 

 pigeon with no set song, is undoubtedly the most 

 attractive : next in order is that of the wood- 

 pigeon on account of its depth and human-like 



