CHAP, v.] FOOD AND HABITS. 179 



birds of passage. They appear at times in Portugal, 

 and are shot there for food. 



" These birds may be easily kept. They will live 

 well on wheat, barley, bread in crumbs, or even boiled 

 potatoes. They ought to have a flat vessel of water to 

 wash in, as well as to drink, sufficient earth with gravel 

 to rub themselves in, and from which they can select 

 stones for swallowing into their gizzards, for the tritu- 

 ration of their food. They should also have a piece of 

 rock-salt, which all the group are very fond of, and it 

 seems to be a wholesome stimulant to their system. 

 Cages are too small for their healthy, handsome, and 

 vivacious existence. They like to fly at times from 

 perch to perch in a room, which should be well lit, not 

 exposed to cold, and, above all things, frequently cleaned 

 out. They enjoy sunshine much, and in it exhibit very 

 elegant attitudes, and good contrivances to receive as 

 much of its light and warmth as possible. 



" The Collared Turtle is strictly monogamous, and it 

 is from their constancy and tender affection for one an- 

 other (for their attentions deserve the name) that the 

 characteristic has been proverbial. Observation shows 

 that with respect to these birds the rhymes * Love and 

 Dove,' * Wooing and Cooing/ have reason in them. 

 The male is somewhat larger than the female, and the 

 colours a little lighter, but the distinction is so slight 

 as to require a practised eye to notice it. The male is also 

 a bolder bird, so pugnacious as to fight even with inani- 

 mate objects ; although the female, when sitting on her 

 eggs, or when nurturing her young, is courageous, and 

 even passionate. The distinction between the grain- 

 eating and the strictly rapacious birds is in this circum- 

 stance very remarkable : the females of the last divi^ 



