468 THE COLLARED TURTLE. 



the cooers not one we think has a note so tender and mournful as 

 this : hence, perhaps, it is that the poets have agreed to make the 

 Turtle the emblem of constancy and devotion to its mate. 



183. THE COLLARED TURTLE. 

 Columba Risoria, LIN. Tourterelka Collier, BUF. Die Lachtaube, BECH. 



Description. This bird is one foot in length, and somewhat 

 larger than the common Turtle Dove. The beak is slender and 

 blackish, except near the root, where it is reddish white ; the 

 iris is golden yellow ; the feet blood red. The upper part of 

 the body is reddish white ; the under part white ; and the 

 back of the neck is marked b;y a black spot, in the shape of a 

 crescent, the points of which are turned to the front, and which 

 is edged at the back by a narrow stripe of white. The shafts 

 of the foremost pen feathers and tail leathers are blackish ; and 

 the under side of the tail is variegated with black and white. 



The female is somewhat smaller and lighter in colour than 

 the male. 



Habitat. The Collared Turtle is a native of India and 

 China, from which countries it has been brought to Europe, 

 where it is now domesticated, and may often be seen in cot- 

 tages, the simple inhabitants of which imagine that it attracts 

 their diseases to itself. It may either be kept in a large cage, 

 or a warm grated corner, or allowed the entire range of the 

 room. In the latter case its wings must be cut, or tied, lest it 

 should break the windows, or do any other damage. The ex- 

 periment of keeping the Collared Turtle in ordinary dovecots 

 has been tried with success ; but the application of artificial 

 heat is necessary to preserve it alive during the winter. 



Food. The favourite food of this bird is wheat, and the 

 peasants often give it the sif tings of their corn. It will also 

 eat bread, millet, poppy, rape, and linseed. 



Breeding. The Collared Turtle readily breeds in confine- 

 ment, and will construct its rude nest with a few straws and 

 grass stalks, if provided with a basket for the purpose. The 

 female lays two beautiful white eggs, on which she sits for 

 sixteen days. She rarely, however, succeeds in rearing both 

 young ones ; as an egg either proves addled or the nestling is 

 suffered to die of hunger ; and it is, therefore, a rare occur- 

 rence if more than six young birds are preserved from one pair 

 in a year. The nestlings exactly resemble their parents, and 



