LONDON'S FEATHERED FOLK 197 



said tree was pruned so as to preserve it. This 

 nesting of the Ring Dove within the City boundary 

 almost reminds one of poor Susan's waking 

 dream : 



A mountain ascending, a vision of trees, 

 Bright volumes of vapour round Lothbury glide. 

 And a river flows on through the Vale of Cheapside. 



A near relative of the Ring Dove may often be 

 heard uttering its soft, agreeable love-song. This 

 is the Turtle Dove, which is a Summer visitor only. 

 This bird has always been a favourite with the 

 poets as an emblem of faithfulness in love, but 

 although it is a favourite bird friend of mine, I 

 cannot agree that the Turtle exhibits any marked 

 characteristics in this respect. It differs greatly 

 in its habits from the better-known Ring Dove. 

 Its flight is softer and not nearly of such a noisy 

 description. It spreads its tail fan-like when fly- 

 ing, and when thus seen the bird presents a most 

 beautiful appearance, the white edges of the tail- 

 feathers showing up most prominently. Its 

 plumage, too, is far different, the remarkably 

 beautiful iridescence upon the feathers of the Ring 

 Dove being absent in the case of the present 

 species. As a matter of fact, a typical example of 

 a pure Ring Dove is to be regarded as one of the 

 most beautiful birds found in our country. 



Both birds build a mere platform of sticks as a 



