114



On the White-tliroated Pigeon.



This, I think, was quite home out by subsequent events, for though

none of these birds lived long enough to regain the perfect plumage,

one dying on 18th June, 1910, another on 23rd October, 1910, and

the third on 25th May, 1911. They were all most certainly much

darker with fewer white feathers than they at one time had. I have

the skins of two of them, all the white marked feathers seem to be

old and worn, whereas the new feathers are all normally coloured.


I believe all three of the white marked birds were cocks, one

of them mated with the sixth and last, an ordinary coloured bird,

early in March, 1910. Six eggs were laid, three at least being fertile,

unfortunately none were hatched. The hen died on 1st February,

1911. It is very much to be regretted that this pair did not rear

any young as they would have been so useful to mate with birds

from the first pair.


I mentioned above that two of the young birds reared here

had mated. The young hen laid her first egg on 20th August, 1910,

it was unfertile, but I gave them a young newly-hatched Snow Pigeon

(Columba leuconota), they kept it alive for about a fortnight, but did

not rear it. During 1911, seven eggs were laid, but nearly all were

unfertile. In 1912 five eggs were laid, three of which were broken,

but the other two hatched, two beautiful young birds having been

fully reared, in every way appearing as strong and healthy as any

of the others although bred from birds which are brother and

sister. My present stock consists of a pair of the original birds,

eight more bred from them, and two grandchildren, twelve in all, a

beautiful series, which I cannot however regard without a certain,

melancholy feeling, for without a further importation of fresh blood,

this stock must, after a few years at the most, gradually lose vitality

and die out, and when shall we see a fresh importation, for who

wants pigeons ?


In my first paper I mentioned that the second bird reared in

1909 had thirteen tail feathers instead of the normal twelve, and I

wondered if it would still retain them all when it became adult ; it

is now a fine cock bird and still has thirteen rectrices, he lives with one

of his brothers on most friendly terms. This last summer these two

birds were most anxious to nest, they built a large substantial nest

in which one or the other spent much of its time, the only thing



