AUSTRALIAN CRESTED PIGEON. 



77 



sterile hollow on the earth's surface), never ascend- 

 ing to higher land, where there are extensive 

 marshes covered with Poh'gonium geranium. In 

 the river valleys, on the flats of which the same 

 bramble grows, Ocyphaps lophotes is sure to be 

 found, but there is no part of the interior over 

 which I have travelled where it is not, and it is 

 very evident that its range is right across the con- 

 tinent from north to south." 



Campbell tells us how fond the Crested pigeon 

 is of water — that it flies into it, and drinks like a 

 horse, sucking the water in, and stays for a little 

 time by the water-pool after it has finished drink- 

 ing. He also mentions the whistling sound of its 

 wings when in flight, and how it jerks up its tail 

 on alighting on a bough. It is few of us who have 

 had the pleasure of watching a captive Crested 

 dove enjoy its liberty — having escaped from an 

 aviary — with the happy ending to the owner of 

 recovering it in a few hours. A writer 

 who had this experience was much 

 struck by the bird's flight, which was 

 almost straight up into the air like a 

 rocket, " clapping his wings against his 

 body all the time as he ascended, then 

 he held up his wings and descended 

 rapidly at a very acute angle till he 

 reached about the same level from 

 which he started, and then he flew away 

 and alighted on the top of a larch 

 tree about a hundred yards off, and up 

 went his tail as he poised himself, which 

 he did without difficulty on the thin 

 twigs." As the hen was being used as 

 decoy in a trap cage this was probably 

 the cock's love dance, for he went 

 through the performance again and 

 again. His crest when flying low was 

 always carried on his neck, and the 

 rapidity of his flight very great ; he did 

 not even chepk it when alighting, but 

 just threw up his tail to arrest his 

 momentum. The flesh of the Crested 

 pigeon is said to be neither very tender 

 nor yet well flavoured. The nest is very fragile, 

 and is built in low shrubs in exposed situations ; 

 two eggs are laid. 



LIFE IN CAPTIVITY. 



Most people who have kept an)' foreign pigeons 

 have kept the Crested or Marsh pigeon, for it is a 

 general favourite, being very hardy and easy to 

 breed, so many as five broods being bred in one 

 season. It is, however, a bad-tempered bird 

 towards others of its tribe whilst nesting, and one 

 pair I had were most disturbing — they had a mania 

 for sitting, and sitting well, on other doves' eggs, 

 each bird taking a separate nest ; they even hatched 

 one Necklace dove's egg. 



At last I gave them a small aviary to themselves, 

 and here they brought up several young ones. The 

 young birds are very pretty, soft grey in colour, 

 with tiny crests even before they leave the nest, 

 but the eyes are dark, and the skin round them 

 dark also, though at two months old it is red, as 

 in the adult bird. The parents are very devoted, 

 and one of my young ones was still being fed at 

 the age of five weeks old. The late Mr. Cresswell 

 had one j-oung Crested dove that was so precocious 

 that at 13 days old it flew from its nest to a high 

 perch. 



I noticed that when my cockbird was angry he 

 would always lower his crest flat before he made 

 an attack on another 'bird, and the ordinary coo 

 (which is more like a bark and sounds like "whuff, 

 whuff") was changed for a snapping noise with its 

 beak, rather like the sound made by an owl. Even 

 in so small a space as an aviary the Crested dove 



Australian Crested Pigeon. 



Photo by Mr. D. Sclh-Smith. 

 From The AvicuUnral Magazine. 



still retains its habit of jerking up its tail when 

 alighting, and very graceful it looks when doing 

 it, for it is a most shapely bird, and its upright 

 crest of fine hair-like feathers (which look as if 

 they had been wetted and then brushed to a point) 

 give it a very distinguished appearance. When 

 cooing to the hens my cock birds used to spread 

 their tails like fans, arch the wings above the back, 

 and so display all the beautiful metallic colours to 

 the best advantage, bobbing up and down mean- 

 while as if they were on springs. In one instance 

 only have I heard of a cock showing off by trailing 

 and spreading his wing. 



Once I had a hen Crested dove that in some un- 



