ii6 BIRDS 



Australia boasts a great series of desirable aviary doves. 

 Chief among these are the Australian Crested Doves 

 (Ocyphaps lophotes) and the Bronze-winged Pigeon 

 (Phaps chalcoptera) . Both are handsome birds, with bril- 

 liantly iridescent wing coverts. The Crested Dove is fur- 

 ther decorated with a long, pointed tuft of feathers on the 

 head. Both species are very easily bred, and are hardy 

 enough to endure our winters without heat, if properly 

 sheltered. 



The Diamond Dove (Geopelia cuneata) is the smallest of 

 the Australian species, being about the size of our own 

 Ground Dove. It is a soft gray in general color, with tiny 

 round, white spots on the wing coverts. It breeds freely 

 and is a most attractive bird for the aviary. 



Of the African species, the Senegal Dove {Stigmato- 

 pelia senegalensis) is the most common in captivity. It is 

 a soft vinous-gray in general color, with a broken, black- 

 ish collar about the neck. Curiously enough, while this 

 bird is well known to be perfectly hardy in England, in 

 this country it seems to be unable to endure the slightest 

 cold. 



The only dove, with the notable exception of the Rock 

 Dove, which has become domesticated is the Barbary 

 Turtle or Ring Dove {Streptopelia risoria). This is the 

 commonest dove in captivity, and is well known as a creamy- 

 brown bird, with a black nuchal collar. It has been so long 

 in captivity that its ancestry has been lost,* but it has pre- 

 sented none of the variations peculiar to domestic creatures, 

 with the exception of the albinistic form. 



It is the most suitable of all doves for the tyro and makes 



*Dr. Ernst Hartert (Novitates Zoologiccu, Vol. XXIII, No. i, 

 1916, p. 78) advances evidence to prove that S. roseogrisea of north- 

 eastern Africa and Arabia is the species from which the Barbary or 

 Blond Turtle Dove was originated. 



