194 INHERIT A \( K. FERTILITY, AND SEX IN PIGEONS. 



"The length is about 10 inches. The chin is whitish; from the corners of the mouth to the eyes, 

 is a narrow streak of black. 21 The cheeks, neck, breast, and belly gray tinged with vinaceous or 

 pale purplish-red; the hind neck with a demi-collar of black, some of the side-feathers composing it 

 being tipped with white. The back, scapulars, and rump are of a pale clove-brown, with a greenish 

 tinge. The margins of the wings, the greater coverts, and under wing-coverts are blue-gray. The 

 greater quills are hair-brown, delicately edged with grayish white. The tail is slightly rounded, the 

 two middle feathers entirely clove-brown, the remainder on each with the basal half black, the tips 

 bluish-gray, except those of the two outermost, which are white. The vent and under tail-coverts 

 are white, the legs and feet gray (?) ; the inner toe a little longer than the outer. In its natural state 

 it inhabits the woods, where it breeds, making a nest similar to that of the common turtle, and lays 

 2 white eggs. It seeks its food in the open grounds, and subsists upon grain, grass-seeds, pulse, etc. 

 It is easily distinguished, and the place of its retreat soon discovered by its cooing notes, one of which 

 we have already stated to resemble the human laugh. 



"A mixed breed is sometimes obtained between this species and the common wild turtle, but 

 the progeny are invariably mules, and incapable of further increase, a fact that has been established 

 by many careful and oft-repeated experiments, and one which affords a strong argument against 

 the supposition that many of the varieties of the common pigeon, or of the domestic fowl, are the 

 result of a mixture of different species. 



"Besides the wild turtle known to us as a regular summer visitant in the southern districts of 

 England, the Columba maculicollis and the Columba aurita of Temminck and several others belong 

 to the group, of which the present species may be considered a type." 



More recent authors by no means agree in the use of common names for this 

 ring-dove. Mr. F. Finn, 22 of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, calls the ring-dove the 

 "domestic turtle-dove." Of the domestic ring-dove he says: "It is certainly not 

 identical with the wild Turtur risorius, 23 so far as the note goes; this being a very 

 marked point of specific difference in all the ring-necked species of Turtur I have 

 seen alive." Salvador! uses the name "tame turtle-dove." Stejneger uses "ring- 

 dove" for the domestic bird; "ringed turtle-dove" for the wild species of China 

 and Japan. I think "turtle-dove" may be reserved for all the true turtle-doves 

 having two side-spots on the neck, and "ring-doves" for all doves with a half- 

 collar. "Turtle-dove" for " ring-dove " leads to confounding the latter with the 

 turtle-dove. The common cage ring-dove, St. risoria, I call the blond ring-dove. 

 (H 6, W 10) 



THE WHITE RING-DOVE (STREPTOPELIA ALBA). 



Temminck. A short chapter by Temminck 24 is devoted to the white ring-dove, 

 which he regards as a distinct species, and to which he gives the name Columba 

 alba. The chapter follows in translation: 



" Columba blanche, Co'umba alba, Mihi. K 



"We give to this well characterized species the name White Dove, because, in fact, it is 

 always and wholly of this color. It is surprising that this little dove has always been con- 

 founded with the Blond Dove, which is liable to have a white plumage. We have already 

 spoken of this variety; but it seems necessary to repeat in this chapter the remark, that the 

 White Blond Doves are distinguished at first sight in this, that the mantle, the wing-coverts, 

 the rump, and the two middle feathers of the tail, always preserve a slight isabelline tint, 

 and that the proximal part of the tail is of a more grayish tone. They are further distin- 

 guished by the more sombre color of the small feathers which form the collar. If we take 



21 This is a mark never found in St. risoria. 



"The Cage-Birds of Calcutta." The Ibis, 8th ser., Vol. I, No. 3, 1901. 

 " I suppose Finn here means T. douraca. 

 Vol. I, 1813, pp. 333-335. 



55 This dove was named C. veneris by Boitard and Corbie 1 (p. 237, 1824) and regarded as a variety of Turtur 

 risorius. See their statement in the pages which follow. 



