on Bartlett's Bleeding-heart Pigeon. 233


wings, doubtless thinking of nesting once more. I saw the cock

feed the young one, but he was much shyer about it than the

hen and did not like being watched. About five o’clock the

young one flew up to a thick perch where it passed the night

alone and quite iu the open. The next morning it was being

brooded on the ground by its mother; that night was passed in a

willow near its parents.


The young one now spent its days on the ground, gradually

becoming more active and independent, always flying up to a

perch and roosting alone at dusk ; at four weeks old the tail was

getting noticeable and the first beginning of the “heart” began

to appear. As the nights of November the 9th and 10th were

very cold and frosty I put the young one under shelter. It began

to feed itself when about a month old ; the nape and back of neck

began about this time to assume a green tint, which became

gradually brighter ; the crown, however, still remained chestnut.

The red patch on the heart began to show when about six weeks

old, there was a distinct groove down the centre of the breast,

which up to now had been bare of feathers ; the red patch at first

appeared in the form of red stripes down the breast. I last saw

the young one fed by the cock on Dec. 4, when it was over seven

weeks old.


On Dec. 18 I had the shock of finding the old hen dead ;

she had seemed perfectly well, and I was very sorry to lose her,

as, apart from her rarity, she had proved herself such a devoted

mother that I had become quite attached to her. A little over a

week later the young one followed her ; it had been hatched too

late and the wonder was it had lived so long and done so well.

During the very severe weather in January last the toes of the

cock became slightly frosted ; during the whole of the time I had

these birds they would always persist in roosting in the open,

and, though the first winter seemed to have been gone through

I without any ill effects, the exceptional severity of the last one

was I think too much for them. They certainly seem much

hardier than the common species. The cock died on the 18th of

March of this year. Thus sadly ends the history of this most

delightful and interesting family.


If only a sufficient number could be imported before they



