(•(iM Mitin.K -TiiK pmn(»Ns. ;{<jl 



to tly l(i\v, iiml only for short (lisliuiccs, iiinl to speiiil luo.sL of their tiiiu; uii 

 thu {ground. 



Ill Jaiiiiiiua, acronliiij- to Mr. .Miirch.thf (irouiid Dove soint'tiinus porches, 

 mill always roosts, on low lu'cs ; hut is otlu'rwisc ^fiicrally found in pairs, 

 fewliiij,' on tlu! ground on small j^rain and seeds. Several pairs may be .seen 

 i'eedin^ toj,'ctlicr, hut they do not assoeiate. It is .siiid to lie very tame, uiid 

 to he found about homesteads and in streets and roads. It also breetls in 

 low trees, the cashew and the dogwood seeming to be preferred. It is very 

 rarely kept as a cage-liird, as its note is a jilaintive mournful coo, and there 

 is a Creole superstition that misfortune will happen to any one so treating 

 it. The nest is slightly made of twigs, HikmI with grass, and built in a 

 fork or hollow. The eggs are two, of a rounded oval, white, .S7 of an inch 

 by .('.!). 



According to Mr. Salvin, this Dove is one of the most familiar binls of 

 the central region of (Juatemala, where it is the only small (Irouud Dove 

 found. In the coast region its ]>lace was supplied by at least two other 

 species. It is abundant at I)uenas, residing all the year, and breeding in the 

 cochineal plantations, where it deposits-its eggs, two in number, on the grouii' 

 under the rows of "nopal." It is called Tortolita by the inhabitants. IIo 

 found its nest, both on the ground and elevated a few feet al)ove it. 



Mr. Dresser found these birds eomiiion near Matamoras, and generally 

 noticed them on the road between ^latamoras and Hrownsville, as well as on 

 a sand-plain close to Fort Drown, tJii the Te.xaii side of the river. In the 

 interior of Texas he did not meet with any, except once, in April, on the 

 Medina near San Antonio. 



Mr. Audubon describes the llight of this Dove as low, easy, and accom- 

 panied Ijy a whistling sound, produceil by the action of the wings when 

 the bird is surprised and forced to ily. It is less protracted than that of 

 most other species, and seldom extends more than a hundred yards at a time. 

 It seems much attached to its chosen locality, and almost immediately re- 

 turns to it after having been driven away. While it alights on trees and 

 iiKJVes with ease among the branches, and mostly nests in low trees or 

 bushes, the ground is its usual jilace of resort, where it runs with facility, and 

 in moving always keeps its tail considerably ele\ated. It appeared to be fond 

 of alighting on fences, where it can be heard cooing for half an hour at a 

 tune. 



These Pigeons are met with in groujis of four or five, and seldom more than 

 ten or twelve are seen together. They appear to prefer the thinly gmssed 

 sandy portions of cotton-tields, pea-patches, and similar places. In East 

 Florida they may even be secui in the villages, resorting to the orange-groves 

 and breeding in them. At St. Augustine they are often found within the inner 

 court of the old Spanish fort, rising almost perpendicularly in order to escape 

 above the parapets. They are easily caught, and readily become domesticated. 

 A pair taken when their young were quite small, and placed in an aviary, con- 



