238



Notes on my Birds.



fashion. I11 No. 2 division of the aviary there live three very

well-behaved pairs of doves. Bronze-wings, Rufous Doves and

Solitary Ground Doves. I have had all these six birds for years,

and for long they have lived happily together, and every year they

nest and bring up young ones. So far I have only one young

one in this house this year, a little Rufous Dove, but I fancy the

Bronze-wings have hatched, as I saw an eggshell on the floor a

day or two ago. I11 a few days I shall put a good bed of hay

under the nest to save the young ones hurting themselves on the

hard floor when first they come out of the nest, further when

they are once out the hay makes a cosy place for them to sit in.

Dryness and warmth are very important for young birds, and it

takes so little to chill them.


In No. 3 division are an odd Bronze-wing and a pair each

of Bleeding Hearts and Madagascar Turtles, the latter very hand¬

some birds in colouring rather like the Barranquilla. The Bleed¬

ing Hearts have made a huge nest of dried heather, but so far no

eggs are laid, though I now and then see one of the birds on the

nest.


Into this division I had moved my Bronze-necked Doves,

but the little cock turned so bad tempered in his excitement

over nesting that I was obliged to take him and his mate away.

I one day saw him plucking and beating one of the Bleeding

Hearts, though it was much larger than he was, until the poor

thing was so bewildered it did not know how to protect itself.

Usually I find that the smaller doves are very bad tempered.

One little Picni cock I had was a terror, and thought nothing of

attacking a dove three or four times his size. It is always as well

when turning a fresh bird into an aviary or making any re¬

arrangement in the birds to keep a strict look out for a day or so.

Usually if any fighting is going to take place it will begin within

a few minutes, but if the birds are quiet together for several days

they will usually remain so all along and give no trouble.


(To be continued).



