THE COMMON DOVES OF INDIA 125 



dove (Turtur cambayensis). I make no apology for 

 discoursing upon these common species. I contend 

 that we in India know so very little about even our 

 everyday birds that it is a needless expenditure of 

 energy to seek out the rarer species and study their 

 habits ; we have plenty to learn about those that come 

 into our verandahs and coo to us. 



The curious distribution of our common Indian 

 doves has not, so far as I know, been explained. In 

 very few places are all three common. One or other of 

 them is usually far more abundant than the others, and 

 this one is usually the spotted dove. It is the com- 

 monest dove of Calcutta, of Madras, of Travancore, of 

 Tirhoot, of Lucknow, but not of Lahore or Bombay or 

 the Deccan. Why is this? Why is it that, whereas 

 the Deccan is literally overrun by the ring- and the 

 little brown dove, one can go from Bombay to Mala- 

 bar without meeting one of these species, but seeing 

 thousands of the spotted dove ? 



The only explanation that I can offer of this pheno- 

 menon is that the spotted dove is the most pugnacious 

 and the most pushing ; that where he chooses to settle 

 down he ousts the other species of dove more or less 

 completely; but he, fortunately for the other species, 

 does not choose to settle down in all parts of India. 

 He objects to dry places. Hence he is not seen at 

 Lahore or in the Deccan, or in the drier parts of the 

 United Provinces, such as Agra, Muttra, Etawah, and 

 Cawnpore. 



This is only a theory of mine, and a theory in favour 

 of which I am not able to adduce very much evidence, 



