on the Plumed Doves. 53


4th 1894. These were entered as L. plumifera; nevertheless they


belonged to the white-banded form — L leucogaster, and, so far as


I am aware, all that have been imported since (quite a large


consignment was received by a London dealer in 1904, most of


which, I understand, went to America), have belonged to this


species. The pair which reached the Zoological Gardens in 1894


nested in the grass of one of the outer flights of the Western


Aviary in 1905, and hatched and successfully reared two young


birds.


This species was represented in the Zoological Gardens up


to the present year 1906, where it was still labelled as£. plumifera,


a species which has probably never been seen alive in this


country if indeed in Europe.


My experience of L. leucogaster in captivity has been

limited to five specimens, two males and three females, which I

obtained in 1905. At first they were very shy, but they soon

became tame, and then I found that it was impossible to keep

more than one pair together. They are terrible bullies, and a

cock will soon clear the place of every ground bird except the

hen he is mated to. I therefore kept only one pair, the others

going to another member of the Society. Another difficulty with

these birds is that the cock every now and then commences to

chase and bully his own hen. The pair will caress each other

most affectionately for a time, and then the cock will suddenly

turn on the hen and chase her all over the enclosure in which

they are kept. This habit is, of course, by no means conducive

to successful nesting, and so far I have been entirely unsuccessful.


In the spring of the present year (1906) I put this pair into

my largest outdoor aviary, and here I think they would have

succeeded, but before they had been out an hour they commenced

to chase and worry the Quails and Hemipodes to such an extent

that my only course was to confine them in a smaller aviary.

This was a fair-sized place, about equal to one of the smaller

compartments of the Western aviary at the Zoo., and the outer

part was well turfed. They had not been here long before the

lieu laid a pair of eggs in one corner, without any pretence at a

nest, and commenced to sit. No sooner had she commenced

liowever than a thunderstorm with tropical rain caused her to



