102 T. H. Newman—The Rosy-grey Ticrtle-dove and others.


suppose that they were acquainted with the Indian bird, while, on the

other hand, the cage-bird is quite unmistakably referred to. In 1735

Eleazar Albin published a coloured plate of “ The Turtle-dove from the

East Indies ” ; this is a quite excellent figure of a Barbary Dove.

He mentions that “ they are tame, pretty birds, and kept in cages by

the curious, in which they will breed and bring up their young ”.


Latham, Syn. ii, 2, p. 648, No. 42, 1783, under Collared Turtle,

gives a good description. He mentions “ the fore-neck and breast,

white, with a vinaceous tinge, the rest of the underparts white, tail . . .

the two middle feathers plain, the others tipped with white and the outer

one white on the outer edge. This inhabits India, but is a bird common

in France, and other parts of the European continent, but I do not

hear of it at large in England ”. He adds a note : “ Some think as far

as Sweden, but I think Linnaeus’s words do not justify this. He says

“ Habitat in India, nobis communis Turtur ,” by which I should think

he only means that it is everywhere kept in cages, as with us in England.

Latham’s description is evidently taken from that of Brisson’s Turtur

torquatus ; he gives all Linne’s synonyms, as well as others. Both

Albin and Brisson are quoted by Linne as referable to his Columba

risoria, the latter, of course, not until a, later edition, as Brisson’s work

was not published before 1760. Temminck and Knip, Les Pigeons,

Fam. sec. pi. 44 (1808-11), under Columba risoria, as of Latham, 1790,

give a good figure of a Barbary Dove, and two plates later one of the

white variety, giving it the name of Columba alba, and stating its origin

to be China.


As long ago as 1873, Schlegel, Mus. Pays Bas. Columb., p. 123, 1

seems to have pointed out that Linne’s C. risoria referred to the Barbary

Dove, as Stejneger, Pr. U.S. Nat. Mus., x, p. 426, 1887, wrote: “ It is

curious that Schlegel’s very clear argument should not have been

sufficient to settle beyond dispute the fact that the domestic King Dove,

which Linnaeus described as Columba risoria is not a descendant of

the wild bird of India, China, and Japan usually so-called. The

domesticated species belongs to that group of the sub-genus Streptopelia,

which has a comparatively short tail, with the outer tail-feathers entirely


1 I regret that I have not been able to see this paper, as they were unable to

find it for me in the Zoo Library when I inquired for it quite lately.—T. H. N.



