THE PLUMED GROUND DOVE. 



75 



postures ; he did them with much solemnity, as if 

 it were the most important thing in the world ; but 

 the hen, I suppose, was used to it, and tooli it all 

 very quietly. I never reared any young ones, 

 though my hen laid several eggs. I found them 

 very gentle little birds, and very attractive 

 additions to my collection of doves and pigeons ; 

 everyone who saw them admired them. 



But to return to Mr. Newman's birds. His old 

 pair were very tame, but the 3'oung ones were 

 much wilder. I have often found this the case 

 with doves, and one nervous young one will put 

 an whole aviary in a flutter; so it is wise to remove 

 the young from nesting birds as soon as they are 

 well grown and there is no doubt about their being 

 able to do for themselves. In April Mr. Newman's 

 birds started nesting, but this first attempt was a 

 failure; in May, however, the birds tried again, 

 and one 3-oung one was reared. This bird would 

 sit by the old bird beside the nest whilst a third 

 pair of eggs were being hatched, and, unlike naost 

 doves, the affection of the parents did not cease as 

 the first young bird grew older, for it was fed 

 (with the younger bird) by them until it was 

 between nine and ten weeks old and almost their 

 own size. 



A curious fact about the young birds is that 

 the}' begin to moult before the first plumage is 

 complete, so that by the time the young one is full 

 grown it is in adult feather. The young birds, 

 when first they leave the nest, run about very 

 actively ; they utter a sort of chirping whistle and 

 nestle under the parent birds. When about 13 

 days old the white face markings begin to appear. 

 The incubation of the eggs lasts 17 days, and the 

 young bird first leaves the nest at about nine days 

 old. The Partridge Bronze-wing is the most 

 amiable of pigeons, and Mr. Newman's six birds 

 used all to roost together in a group. 



When one considers how this sweet little pigeon 

 is prized in our English aviaries, it is sad to think 

 of the little value put upon it in its own land. We 

 are told how in quite recent years 400 of these 

 ground doves were caught and offered to the 

 Sydney dealers, who declined them ; but finally a 

 party of pigeon shooters bought the lot, and they 

 were all used in shooting matches. 



Poor little birds ! They were said to be "very 

 numerous" in the neighbourhood then, three 5'ears 

 ago; we wonder if they are so nom! 



The Partridge Bronze-wing was bred in the 

 Melbourne Zoo in 1894. 



I do not know the value of these doves a pair, 

 for my own birds were given to me ; but they are 

 rarer than the ordinary Bronze-wing. My birds 

 laid several lots of eggs in a large box lined with 

 earth and sods that I placed for them in the aviary. 



They sat ver}' well, and one could not help noting 

 how like the sitting bird was to the colour of the 

 earth, and how in their wild state it must be very 

 difficult to discover their nests. A hen Red Moun- 

 tain dove who had taken a fancy to the Partridge 

 doves used to sit in the box with them, though not, 

 of course, on the eggs. I never had any young 

 birds, perhaps because my little hen was delicate ; 

 and eventually I lost both her and the cock. 

 In some way the hen had unfortunately sprained 

 her leg, and though she was 'able to get about, I 

 do not think she ever quite recovered. 



The cock bird had two different kinds of coos, 

 but with one he made no display. I never exposed 

 my birds to much cold, so do not feel sure if it 

 would try them or not, but they look much more 

 fragile than the other Bronze-wings, and it seems 

 dangerous to expose partly ground birds to our 

 cold and wet winters. 



CHAPTER Vni. 



CRESTED DOVE AND PIGEON. 

 The Plumed Ground Dove. 

 ,, Australian Crested Pigeon. 



THE PLUMED GROUND DOVE. 



{Lophophaps Jeucogastcr). 



Habitat. — Southern Australia and North-West 

 Australia; but according to Gould, "the whole of 

 Central Australia, the Gulf District, and the 

 interior of Northern and North-Western Aus- 

 tralia." 



Length. — About 8 inches. 



Colouring. — General colour rich cinnamon fawn. 

 A long upright crest (like that of the Crested Dove) 

 on the head, of fawn and grey. The top of the 

 head and a patch behind and below the bare skin 

 round the eye, blue-grey. Above this face patch 

 and also in front of it are two patches of whitei 

 that in front going under the chin ; the upper 

 throat below this is blackish. The lower throat 

 and wings cinnamon fawn, the wings having- 

 black and grey irregular marks across them, 

 giving the bird an almost barred appearance. On 

 the lower part of each wing a large purplish 

 metallic spot. The back' is brownish fawn, the 

 feathers still edged, but not nearly so distinctly 

 as in the wings; the tail is the same colour, but 

 with a blackish tip to it. Below the cinnamon on 

 the lower throat is a white line right across the 

 breast and extending almost behind the shoulders. 

 This is bordered again by a black and greyish 

 band, the breast below is whitish, the feet red, and 

 the bill slate; the iris is orange, surrounded by a 



