on the Nesting oj the Partridge Bronzewing Pigeon. 341


to hear sundry audible squeaks from them, so I hastily replaced

them. The birds sit very closely. When the nest is disturbed

the sitting bird puffs out its feathers and utters low grunts, and

when the hand is put near the cock strikes out strongly with his

wing, the hen is not so fierce. If driven from the nest the bird

will pretend to be seriously hurt, first one wing and then the

other will be stretched out and quivered. On the 23rd May one

young one was hatched, the other egg contained a nearly full-

sized dead chick. This is my note made the same day : “ Young

covered well with rather dark fawn down, but not more so than

many other doves, bill dark brown, almost black on edges of

mandibles, a white knob on both mandibles at tip, tip of bill

very pale grey, feet greyish pink.” A later note from another

young one adds “ the down is paler (pale yellow) on under

surface,” and that there is “a bare line down breast and

abdomen.” The two points of interest to be noted are (one) that

the you g is no more clothed with down like a young Quail than

many other species of Pigeons. Here is a note made 11. 8. 08.

“ The two young hatched on August 8th are still perfectly helpless,

and differ in no way from the young of other Pigeons; on com¬

parison with a young Deceptive Dove ( Turtur decipiens ) one day

old, the latter has quite as much down, but of a bright yellow

colour, while it is dark fawn in the former, though the Deceptive

was only about half the size it had a bill quite as long but thinner

the chief difference in shape lay in the head, the Partridges had a

very round one with a comparatively short thick bill, the quill

and scapular feathers were beginning to sprout. The smaller of

the two young had both eyes, and the other one eye, half open ;

they uttered a soft chirping note when touched.” And (two) the

presence of an egg tooth on both mandibles, the upper one is of

the usual triangular shape, but unusually large while the lower

one takes the form of a flattened semi-circular nail. I am not

aware that an egg tooth on the lower jaw has been recorded in

any species of bird, but it is evidently not so uncommon among

Pigeons, as I found it present in the newly-hatched young of the

Brush Bronze-wing ( Phaps elegans ), but very much smaller, and,

to my surprise I could just detect it in two young Picui Doves

('Columbzila picui), and in a young Diamond Dove fGeopelia



