on Foreign Doves at liberty.



129



Like many other Australian Doves, the Wonga-wonga has a

fatal habit, when at liberty, of attempting to fly through closed

windows and wire netting. In the case of the window, the bird’s

great weight and the tremendous impetus of its flight sometimes

carry it off victorious to the detriment of the glass, but where wire

netting is the obstacle, a broken neck or a cracked skull is the sad

and inevitable result of the collision.


A small importation of Peaceful Doves ( Geopelia tranquilla)

did not promise well at first, and after twelve months had elapsed, a

solitary cock alone remained. It did not seem worth w T hile to get

any more, as such small birds appeared to stand a poor chance

against the relentless harrying of the owls ; but the little fellow’s

musical coia-coo, coia-coo, sounded so persistently throughout the

day that I at length took pity on his loneliness and got him a mate.

Some weeks after she had been turned out she injured her wing and

had considerable difficulty in flying, although she was just able to

elude my attempt to capture her. In the end, however, rather to

my surprise, she made a good recovery and brought up three broods

during the course of the summer. The latest hatched did not

survive very long after they had left the nest, and two more fell

victims to a neighbour’s escaped Goshawk, which for many months

paid the most unwelcome visits to the garden. Four however, were

left at the end of the winter and more young were reared during the

ensuing summer and again this year. With luck, therefore, and the

importation of a few fresh birds, this pretty little species may

eventually become established.


Barbary Doves ( Turtur risorius ) which are kept at liberty in

many gardens with considerable success, have never done well with

us. Many of those first liberated proved unable to stand the winter

without artificial shelter, and of the survivors all but one perished

during the canker outbreak, together with the Senegal and Half-

collared Doves. About a year ago a few more were obtained, which

have proved hardier than their predecessors, but they have not bred

well.


Bronze-winged Pigeons ( Phaps chalcoptera ) at one time

promised well, being hardy birds, indifferent to cold, not susceptible

to disease and little inclined to stray when first released. In the



