Vol. II, Pt. I] GIFFORD— BIRDS OF THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS 9 



and 7, scores flew by towards the black lava south of the bay. 

 They flew along the beach and over the water at an elevation 

 of twenty or thirty feet, some much higher, coming from the 

 direction of the lofty promontory at the north end of the bay. 

 Occasionally doves were seen flying from Hood Island to the 

 neighboring Gardner, and vice versa; and on July 25 two were 

 encountered at sea flying from Daphne towards Indefatigable. 



On the ground, the gait of the Galapagos Dove was similar 

 to that of the Mourning Dove. Its flight, however, was 

 neither as swift nor as graceful. In alighting, a whistling 

 sound was often produced, apparently with the wings. 



Their chief food was seeds and occasional pieces of green 

 grass. Once some were seen eating cactus pulp from a fallen 

 tree, and on another occasion several were seen feeding on the 

 ocean-beach among the mangroves. 



When killed, considerable water sometimes escaped from 

 their mouths, as was also the case with Passerine Doves 

 (Chamcepelia passerina) killed on Socorro, Revilla Gigedo 

 Islands. Their drinking places were found to be rather 

 varied. In some instances they were noted drinking from a 

 tank epiphyte (Tillandsia insidaris) which grew in the transi- 

 tion and forested moist regions, and which sometimes con- 

 tained as much as a pint of water. On Bindloe Island they 

 quenched their thirst with the water that condensed about the 

 steam-holes in the craters. On other islands they resorted to 

 springs, ponds, and water-holes, although some of the last at 

 times contained rather salty water. 



In passing from the plumage of the young bird, described 

 by Mr. Ridgway,^ into that of the adult, the first feathers of 

 the adult plumage to appear are the vinaceous-chocolate feath- 

 ers on the sides of the breast. 



In nearly adult birds the last traces of immaturity are 

 shown by a few wood-brown feathers in the breast, by the 

 russet tips and edges of the alula, the primary coverts, and 

 the small feathers along the edge of the wing near the carpo- 

 metacarpal joint, and by the wood-brown edges of the second- 

 aries and tertiaries. In this stage the inner primaries of the 

 immature plumage are usually replaced by those of the adult 

 plumage, while the light rusty margins of the remaining old 

 primaries, characteristic of the young bird, are pretty well 



iProc. U. S. N. M., V. 19, p. 617. 



