TASSELLED VARIETY OF GUINEA-FOWL. 
THIS curious bird is a “freak” or variation 
of the ordinary domestic Guinea- 
Greece Fowl (Nuwmida meleagris). It 
was procured in the Calcutta 
Provision Market for only a little more 
than “killg-price.” As may be easily seen, 
its peculiarity consists in a tassel of feathers 
hanging from a slight projection of the 
skin on the right side of the throat, about 
an inch before the commencement of the 
neck-feathering. This tassel was freely 
movable and swung about; the feathers 
of which it was composed were more than 
an inch long, and when spread open were 
seen to radiate regularly from their point of 
origin. In colour they were plain purplish- 
grey, like the feathering lower down the 
neck, the bird being of the ordinary’ or 
typical guinea-fowl colour, and, indeed, show- 
ing no other noteworthy peculiarity. Had 
the appendage grown from the centre of the 
throat instead of on one side, it would have 
had a perfectly natural appearance; so that 
a case like this should teach us to be careful 
in attributing special uses to some of the 
curious appendages of wild species, which 
may have had a similar casual origin. 
We 
Mr. J. T. Newman’s photograph of the two 
young doves shows admirably 
Rikers: their delicate appearance in 
the half-fledged state. The 
species is the well-known Tame Dove 
(Turtur risorius), often called the Ring-Dove. 
This is, perhaps, hardly a suitable name, as 
it is shared by the very different wood-pigeon 
(Columba palumbus). ‘Collared Turtle” and 
BIRD NOTES 
BY 
FRANK FINN, B.A., F.Z.S., M.B.0.U., 
Of the Indian Museum, Calcutta. 
“Barbary Dove” are alternative titles for 
the tame bird. In these young birds the 
black semicircular mark on the back of 
the neck is not yet noticeable, while their 
plumage is of a paler shade than that of 
the parents, and the feathers have whitish 
tips. Although so long and thoroughly 
domesticated that its wild original is not 
known, the tame turtle - dove does not 
vary much in colour. ‘The most usual 
type is the creamy or pale fawn-coloured 
bird with the black collar, such as the 
parents of the above pair presumably were. 
White varieties occur, and are called Java 
Doves. These usually have no collar, 
and when paired with the fawn birds the 
produce resembles one type or the other as 
a rule. 
RING-DOVE’S NEST AND YOUNG. 
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