298 Dr. A. G. Butler,


or so and went to nest, incubated her eggs the full time, but

without result ; the eggs were clear ; two days later she began to

sit again.


Greenwing Doves paired but did not build or lay : and

now to come to the Tambourine Doves.


I caught and turned out my old pair on May 12th, and

shortly after heard the cock-bird sounding his tom-tom (the

song is far more like that than the tambourine).


In June, although I had found no shells on the floor of

the aviary, I was convinced that young had hatched ; because

the cock bird disappeared during the day, the hen only being

visible : I would not, however, risk disturbing them by venturing

to that end of the aviary until the end of the month, when the

cock bird began to coo again and I feared that the young must

have died.


The nest made this year was placed quite two feet higher

up than that of last year and was absurdly small for the species :

for some time I could not see it and was just turning away under

the impression that I had been deceived as to the birds having

young when there was a violent fluttering and the nestlings

alighted on the branches below it. I just glanced at the empty

nest and made haste to leave the aviary.


On the 1st July I opened the door at the farther end and

looked in : I saw one of the young birds waddling along on the

floor below the thicket of branches on which the nest was built

and went away satisfied. On the 2nd both of the old birds were

at the end of the aviary farthest from the nest and the cock bird

was cooing to the hen. I could see nothing of the young, and

after waiting some time, I went inside to investigate : eventually

I found one of them sitting up dead close to the wall at the back

of the thicket. So far as I could judge this bird appeared to be

about three weeks old ; well-feathered but with the tail-feathers

only partly out of their sheaths : I sent it off to the Natural

History Museum.


In the afternoon of the same day I saw the second young

bird crouching on the ground half way down the aviary and

panting : I picked it up and found that the parents were

not feeding it : I therefore placed it in last year's nest, where I



