5° 



MY FOREIGN DOVES AND PIGEONS. 



visited Dublin in 1849, as tlie procession passed 

 under an arch in Eccles Street, a dove was lowered 

 into the Royal carriage. The Queen took the bird 

 gently in her hand and placed it beside her, amidst 

 loud cheers from the large crowd. 



One more point about the Barbary and I must 

 pass on to another kind. It is an interesting 

 explanation I once read of that well-known verse 

 in the Psalms so fascinating in its imager}' and 

 yet at the same time apparently hard to under- 

 stand. "Though ye have lien among the pots, 

 yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove that is 

 covered with silver wings, and her feathers like 

 gold." In Eastern countries the house roofs are 

 flat, and all the rubbish of the house and broken 

 pots — that we should dispose of right away — are 

 still carried up and emptied on the house roof, and 

 here the semi-wild Barbary doves settle in flocks to 

 find any stray bits of food. Suddenly a noise 

 startles them, and they rise and swirl upwards, 

 their feathers looking first white as silver against 

 the deep blue sky, then changing to gold as they 

 catch the sun's rays. Now read the verse again 

 and you will understand what David meant when 

 he took this little scene from everyday bird life as 

 the rising of a soul from the darkness of sin into 

 light. 



THE HALF-COLLARED TURTLE. 



(Turtur semitorquatus). 



Habitat. — Inhabits Africa from about 14 latitude 

 southward. Common at East Soudan and other 

 parts of South Africa. 



Length. — About 12 inches. Shape, very fine, 

 and strong-looking. 



Colouring. — General colour a rich vinous, pinker 

 on the breast and shading on the wings and back 

 to a browner tint. The forehead is whitish grey, 

 this being more distinct in the cock than in the 

 hen. A broad black collar, very narrowly edged 

 with grey above and below, encircles the hinder 

 part of the neck. The eyes are orange-red, the 

 eyelids red. The bill is black and the feet red. 

 The sexes are very similar in colouring, but the 

 forehead is not so white in the hen as in the cock. 



WILD LIFE. 



Dr. Butler tells us it nests in the forks of 

 Acacias or silk trees during and after the rainy 

 season; it feeds on berries, grain, small seeds, and 

 stone fruits. Mr. Robin Kemp found it resident 

 throughout the year and very common in South 

 Eastern Sierra Leone. It assembled in flocks 

 of from 30 to 40 birds. 



LIFE IN CAPTIVITY. 



The Half-Collared Turtle is a very fine, well- 

 shaped dove, but being large in size it does not do 

 in a small space. The colouring is very rich, and 

 a bird in good plumage is very handsome, the red 

 eye seeming just the touch of colour needed to 

 complete the harmony of the whole. It is a hardy 

 bird, and has often been bred in England. The 

 eggs are two in number, large and white, and they 

 hatch out in the short period of 12 days. The 

 \'oung birds are very much the colouring of the 

 parents, but considerably duller, and lack the black 

 collar and the red eye. The hair}' down, so mixed 

 with the feathers in some young doves, is very 

 conspicuous in this species. 



In March, 1902, I had a pair of these birds sent 

 me direct from Africa. They began to nest in May 

 of the same year and bred many times. When first 

 I had them they were excellent parents and good 

 sitters, but later they failed to rear their young 

 ones so successfull}'. I parted with them, and I 

 believe they did just as well in their new home ; 

 probably they had hardly sufficient space" when 

 with me. 



I found these doves a strange mixture of bold- 

 ness and timidity. They were constantly driven 

 about the aviary by a dove much their inferior in 

 size, and yet on the other hand they boldly beat 

 off with their wings my old Masked Parrakeet, 

 "Jack," when he was climbing up to inspect their 

 nest, and he retired very discomfited. I have 

 found it does not answer to try and keep the parrot 

 tribe and nesting doves together. Amongst 

 parrots and parrakeets I have had three different 

 birds that were all egg-eaters or egg-destroyers, 

 and in one case I caught a parrakeet in the act of 

 eating a fat young Picui dove which it had robbed 

 from the nest. 



My young Half-Collareds were some of them 

 very wild, and would dash about the aviary unless 

 great care was used. This is not a rare dove, 

 about 12/6 to 15/- will buy a pair, but it does not 

 seem imported very regularly. It was first kept 

 at the Zoo in 1870, and later bred there. In 1907 

 some Half-CoUareds were included amongst the 

 five kinds of doves that were liberated in the 

 Gardens as an experiment, to see if they would 

 settle and breed there, but I do not know if this 

 particular kind did well or not. 



When sitting my birds were very devoted to 

 each other, and the one not actually on the nest 

 would keep guard over it continually. The birds 

 were much tamer whilst nesting. I found very 

 often only one egg was laid at a sitting, but I do 

 not know if this is the general rule or not. They 

 were anxious to nest all the year round, and the 



