on the White-throated Pigeon.



113



about three weeks old, by which time it is well feathered, its

wing's being large but rounded looking as the longer flights are

not yet nearly full grown ; it is capable of quite sustained flight,

though it does not then seem able to distinguish objects well,

as it will fly against the netting as readily as to a branch,

where it will remain clinging to the wire for some time. The

other day I saw what was probably the first attempt of a young

bird to explore the outer world. I was outside the aviary, when

my attention was drawn to an old cock White-throated Pigeon,

perched on a branch, uttering frantic grunts and vigorously waving

his wings up and down in a great state of excitement. I then

found that his precious infant had just flown from its nest and

was clinging to the wire netting.


After its first flight the young bird invariably returns to its

nest where it will often remain for two or three days longer before

again venturing forth. The reason why so far every egg hatched

has been reared may be attributed to the fact that the birds do

not nest so frequently as most pigeons do. It so often happens that

pigeons in captivity become anxious to nest again before the young

of the first nest can look after themselves, so they get neglected and

become weak and often die. The White-throated Pigeon seems to

lay about every two months, on the average, though, of course, it

will do so more often if anything happens to prevent the rearing of

the young in one nest. The young do not seem to be driven off

when full-grown. When the old pair were with their five young ones,

it was not until the young birds were themselves anxious to nest that

I noticed the first signs of disagreement, and quite lately, since the

last young one has been hatched, almost every day I used to see the

former young bird, then about two months old, sitting by the

side of its father who was brooding the newly-hatched young one.


All the above refers to a single pair of birds and their young

ones, but it may be remembered that there were originally six birds

imported. I will now briefly relate the history of the remaining

four. I mentioned that three of these birds were heavily marked

with white feathers on wings, tail and breast, but that I believed

they would in time revert to the normal plumage if they improved

in health, as the white feathers were evidently a sign of weakness..



