178 ATTACHMENTS. [CHAP. v. 



and then the plan adopted to secure them from flying 

 away was, to keep the female either in my hand or shut 

 up in a large cage, thus surely preventing the male from 

 straying out of sight ; for the Collared Turtle is a most 

 loving and devoted husband. However, one bird, an 

 old bachelor who had no wife, once flew out through an 

 open window; but I succeeded in bringing him back 

 from an open garden, by calling him repeatedly, until 

 he recognised my voice. The little creature seemed 

 frightened, and was greatly delighted to find himself 

 again perched cooing on my shoulder. One of our 

 Doves, a great pet, will, when it chooses, find its room 

 quickly enough, though it may have to travel from the 

 furthest part of the house to arrive at it." S. A. D. 



Mr. Richard Dowden (Rd.) of Rathlee, the father of 

 the preceding informant, observes " The mythological 

 use of Doves, as an emblem of affection, is common 

 among us ; but to make them also representatives of 

 friendship would be a mistaken notion ; for these birds, 

 though tame, are not affectionate to those who keep 

 them. Still it is no error in their history to make 

 them ' Venus' birds ;' for their attachment to each other 

 is strong, and the uneasiness of one, when separated 

 from the other, remarkable, not in the one taken away 

 only, but in that left behind ; and when one of ours was 

 caught and held, the other constantly braved the danger 

 and perched close to its mate. I once saw a pair in 

 Glengal Wood, County Tipperary, sitting faithfully side 

 by side on a tree, but they must have escaped from an 

 aviary, and in all probability would not outlive the 

 wetness, even if they could the coldness, of an Irish 

 winter. For though common in the south of Europe 

 and in Asia Minor, they are, in those countries, only 



