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found that he prevented others from nesting, and even destroyed

their nests and eggs, so he had to be removed. Last May I

procured a fresh mate for him, but was for some weeks com¬

pelled to cage them. I lately turned them alone into a new small

aviary, bare of shrubs, but with a few natural perches and a

basket tied up ; within ten days the hen laid, and they are

sitting well.


4. The nesting which has given me most satisfaction is that

of a little pair of the Zenaida maculata. It is a rare Dove, indeed

I have never seen any others ; and I fancy the smallest of that

large tribe. I bought them in 1892 of Mr. Abrahams. They are

somewhat larger than the well-known Zebra Dove (Geopelia

striata), with rather hooked beaks. Their plumage is dull, save

for bright green and violet patches on the sides of the neck ; but

their movements are very agile and graceful. They have lived

out of doors in a large aviary, and I never, before this year, saw

any signs of nesting, though the hen may have dropped eggs.

Last winter she looked chilly and poorly, so I transferred her to

the large cage in a bird-house, in which a lot of tender little

Doves winter ; she soon got perfectly well, and in May was

restored to her mate. He showed signs of extraordinary delight,

and before long, to my great surprise, I found them sitting on a

pair of very round eggs, which were soon cracked by the inter¬

ference of some troublesome hybrid Doves. The Zauaidas soon

laid again, and this time I transferred their eggs to a pair of

Barbary Turtles ; they hatched one, but apparently they did not

like its diminutive size and neglected it. A third time the

Zenaidas sat, now in a very secure place ; they are the most

devoted of parents, drive Doves twice their own size from the

neighbourhood of their nest, and have a pair of young nearly

ready to leave the nest.


5. Lastly, my Zebra Doves (Geopelia striata) have often

nested and often raised young to the age of sixteen to twenty

days, when they have gone to nest again. The young jump

from the nest before they can fly, and, whether from the parents’

neglect or from the dampness of our climate, I cannot say, go

weak in the legs and dwindle away. I expected a similar fate for

a pair this year ; as usual, they tumbled down and crawled about

lamely; one died, but the other gradually gained strength. It

was lifted to a ledge every night, and the great heat came on in

the nick of time. By degrees wing-power came, and now at the

age of towards six weeks it flies with the wonderful strength

and agility of the parents, and takes good care of itself.



