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The Marquis of Tavistock,



and very large crests, which, curiously enough, are at that time

more developed than when the birds are fully adult.


In disposition the Crested Dove is little better than the

majority of the pigeon family, which, contrary to popular ideas,

are jealous, quarrelsome, and greedy, and much given to bullying

their own wives and running after their neighbours’.


When courting, the cock raises his tail vertically over his

back and makes a succession of rather rapid bows, each bow being

accompanied by a gulping coo and a spreading of the tail and wings ;

an exactly similar performance is gone through to intimidate a male

rival. The Crested Dove shows little inclination to molest other

birds, but is quite able to take its own part when attacked, and in a

dispute in which I once saw one engaged with a Roseate Cockatoo,

the cockatoo, who had been the aggressor, came off rather second best.


Although largely arboreal in their habits, Crested Doves spend

a good deal of time on the ground as well, and run with great

rapidity. Their flight, which is accompanied by a loud whistling

sound, is tremendously rapid, and I know few birds which can equal

them in point of speed : the wing's are flapped several times in quick

succession, after which they are held rigid for a few moments until

the impetus begins to slacken. On alighting, the bird throws its

tail up over its back, apparently with a view to keeping its balance.


South American Spotted Pigeons (Cohtmba maculosa) were

introduced about the same time as the Crested Doves and treated in

the same way on their arrival. They have done well—except during

the canker epidemic already mentioned—and a flock of about eighteen

maintains itself from year to year, the number of young birds bred

each season being apparently just sufficient to make up for the losses

among the adults. The flight of this bird is not unlike that of the

Ringdove, but when seen on the wing it is not easily mistaken for

any other species as the rather large head and neck give it a peculiar

appearance which distinguishes it from other doves of the same size.


The Spotted Pigeon begins to nest very early in the year, and

frequently selects the prickly branches of an Araucaria as a site for

building operations. During the breeding' season the cock may often

be seen sitting at the extreme top of some bare tree, uttering his

peculiar call, a hoarse rhythmical cOrrrrw, cor, cor, cdorrrw, cor, cor



