48 



MY FOREIGN DOVES AND PIGEONS. 



ENGLISH TURTLE-DOVE. 



(Turtiir Turtur). 



Habitat. — Western Palaeartic Region; Africa in 

 winter as far south at least as Slioa, and Asia as 

 far east as Yarliand. 



Length.— About ii inches. Shape, very well 

 proportioned. 



Colouring. — Adult male — Head, nape, wing- 

 coverts, rump, and flanks, soft bluish grey. On 

 each side of the neck a collar or large patch of 

 black feathers with ashy-white edges. The back 

 pale brown; lower back, rump, and upper tail- 

 coverts brown, more or less ashy; chin nearly 

 white, throat and breast vinous, changing into 

 white on the under-parts. The wings are chiefly 

 brown, each feather having a broad cinnamon 

 edge, giving the wings a beautiful laced appear- 

 ance ; the quill feathers of the wings brown edged 

 with a lighter shade; the centre tail feathers are 

 brown, the remainder greyish black and white. 

 The feet are red, the iris reddish brown, the skin 

 round the eye red. The female is rather smaller 

 than the male, and the plumage less bright and 

 pure. 



■WILD LIFE. 



This beautiful little dove is migratory, arriving 

 in England early in May and leaving us again in 

 September for Southern Europe and Africa. Two 

 eggs are laid, the nest being built of twigs, 

 generally in a pine or beech tree, seldom in a bare 

 exposed situation. There are two or three broods 

 in the season (which is from May to August), and 

 the young ones are hatched in about 17 days. In 

 its wild state the Turtle feeds on "corn of all kinds, 

 and the seeds of coniferse, alders, beech, and other 

 trees." It is said even to eat acorns and small 

 snails. Just before migration these doves gather 

 in flocks in the open fields. Though common in 

 England, this dove is rare in Scotland or Ireland. 



I.irP, I\ CAPTIVITY. 



My first pair of Turtles were bought in i8g8, and 

 a few weeks after I procured a second pair; these 

 last were said to be "mouth reared," but though 

 finer and older birds, they were never so tame as 

 my first pair. These two birds were named 

 "Jamie" and "Dot," and it was only some time 

 afterwards that I found I had mistaken the cock 

 for the hen. They were ver}' tame, and the hen 

 "Jamie" specially loved to nestle in my hand to be 

 petted. They nested and laid eggs, but from 

 various causes I never reared any young ones. 



I often stood quite close to the nest, and one of 

 the birds would come on my hand for a few hemp 

 seeds, and when it had had its share would change 

 places with the sitting bird in the nest, and let it 



come for its share of hemp too. They did it all 

 very seriously, and it was very pretty to see the 

 eager impatient look of the dove in the nest if the 

 other seemed rather longer than usual, or taking 

 more than its due share of hemp. 



Once "Jamie" was very ill, she vomited some 

 colourless fluid, and two days later laid a soft- 

 , shelled egg; a second one laid was quite normal. 

 Dr. Greene considered that the Turtle-dove nested 

 in captivity with more readiness than any of the 

 English doves ; but though he notes that the birds 

 are good parents, yet when ready to nest again he 

 found them very cruel to the first brood, driving 

 them about and otherwise maltreating them. 



The )'oung birds of the year are browner than 

 their parents, the rufous edgings to the wing 

 feathers are broader and duller; there are no dark 

 patches on the sides of the neck ; the throat and 

 breast are pale ash. I once saw a Turtle caught 

 in Herefordshire, and was inuch struck with its 

 general vinous shade as compared to my own 

 birds. The cost of a pair of Turtle-doves is from 

 5/- to 7/6. These doves were first kept at the Zoo 

 in 1863, and were bred there in 1878. A pair 

 presented in May, 18S0, were caught at sea, 

 probably perching on the ship to rest when tired 

 out. 



THE BARBARY TURTLE-DOVE. 



{Turtur risorius). 



Habitat. — Southern Europe, Western Asia and 

 various parts of Africa. It has so long been 

 domesticated in England that its original habitat 

 has become rather uncertain. 



Length. — About 10 inches. Shape, rather long, 

 but well proportioned. 



Colouring. — General colour biscuit (though 

 individual specimens vary, and some are quite a 

 pale cream shade). The long wing' quills, and 

 rump and upper tail feathers are greyish drab. 

 L'nder parts and under tail feathers white. Black 

 collar, slightly edged with a narrow white line 

 above, round the hinder neck. The beak lead 

 colour, feet crimson, eyes rich orange-red. The 

 hen is practically the same colour as the cock, but 

 a little smaller in size and not so thickly built. 



LIFE IN CAPTIVITY. 



The Barbary or Laughing dove, so called from 

 its peculiar coo, is so domesticated in England that 

 little is known of its wild life, all specimens being 

 aviary-bred in this country. It is a dove that is 

 easy to keep, and to breed; also, it is long-lived, 

 and will live happily either in an aviary or in an old 

 soap box converted with a little wire netting into 

 a cage. I have known some people, however, who 



