( 91 ) 

 THE CAROLINA TURTLE DOVE. 



COLUMBA CAROLINENSIS, LiNN. 

 PLATE XVII. Male and Female. 



I HAVE tried, kind reader, to give you a faithful representation of two 

 as gentle pairs of Turtles as ever cooed their loves in the green woods. 

 I have placed them on a branch of Stuartia, which you see ornamented 

 with a profusion of white blossoms, emblematic of purity and chastity. 



Look at the female, as she assiduously sits on her eggs, embosomed 

 among the thick foliage, receiving food from the bill of her mate, and 

 listening with delight to his assurances of devoted affection. Nothing is 

 wanting to render the moment as happy as could be desired by any couple 

 on a similar occasion. 



On the branch above, a love scene is just commencing. The female, 

 still coy and undetermined, seems doubtful of the truth of her lover, and 

 virgin-Uke resolves to put his sincerity to the test, by delaying the grati- 

 fication of his wishes. She has reached the extremity of the branch, her 

 wings and tail are already opening, and she will fly off to some more se- 

 questered spot, where, if her lover should follow her with the same assiduous 

 devotion, they will doubtless become as blessed as the pair beneath them. 



The Dove announces the approach of spring. Nay, she does more :— 

 she forces us to forget the chilUng blasts of winter, by the soft and melan- 

 choly sound of her cooing. Her heart is already so warmed and so sweUed 

 by the ardour of her passion, that it feels as ready to expand as the buds 

 on the trees are, under the genial influence of returning heat. 



The flight of this bird is extremely rapid, and of long duration. 

 Whenever it starts from a tree or the ground, on being unexpectedly ap- 

 proached, its wings produce a whistling noise, heard at a considerable dis- 

 tance. On such occasions, it frequently makes several curious windings 

 through the air, as if to prove its capabihty of efficient flight. It seldom 

 rises far above the trees, and as seldom passes through dense woods or 

 forests, but prefers following their margins, or flying about the fences and 

 fields. Yet, during spring, and particularly whilst the female is sitting on 

 her eggs, the male rises as if about to ascend to a great height in the air, 

 flapping his wings, but all of a sudden comes downwards again, describing 



