8o 



MY FOREIGN DOVES AND PJGEONS. 



THE SOLITARY GROUND DOVE. 



{Leptoptila chloroauchenia). 



Habitat. — South Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, 

 and the Argentine Repubhc. 



Length. — About ii inches. Shape, strongly 

 built, but shapely. 



Colouring. — Adult male — General colour dark 

 gre^'ish ; wings, tail and back olive brown, the 

 long quill wing feathers being of a darker shade. 

 The outer tail feathers are tipped with white, but 

 the white is not noticeable unless looked at from 

 below, or unless the tail is spread. The breast, 

 throat, cheeks, and forehead are a lovely soft dull 

 purple tint, the sheen on the neck and back of the 

 head an exquisite blue green (like the green pearl 

 in a shell). The under-parts white, the iris bright 

 orange, the bill horn-coloured, the feet pink. The 

 hen is very like the cock, but rather smaller, 

 slighter in shape, and lighter in colour. The green 

 on the neck is not so vivid, the purple bloom on 

 the breast not so distinct. 



WILD LIFE. 



Dr. Sclater says of this dove : "It appears to be 

 nowhere very abundant, and addicted to rather a 

 solitary (presumably in pairs) sort of life, though 

 sometimes three or four birds may be seen 

 together. It spends a great deal of time on the 

 ground, where it walks about under the trees 

 rather briskly, searching for seeds and berries. 

 The song is a single uninflected and rather melo- 

 dious note, which the bird repeats at; short 

 intervals, especially in the evening during the 

 warm season. When the birds are abundant, the 

 wood, just before sunset, becomes vocal with their 

 curious far-sounding note, and as this evening 

 song is heard as long as the genial weather lasts, 

 it is probably not related to the sexual instinct. 

 The nest is a simple platform; the eggs two in 

 number and white, but more spherical in shape 

 than those of most other pigeons." 



LIFE IN CAPTIVITY. 



This is a rare dove, and seldom met with. I 

 was fortunate in getting mine (in ignorance of 

 what they really were) very cheaply. 



I am very fond of the Solitary Ground dove. He 

 is so harmonious in his quiet beauty, and looks as 

 if he had been sitting in the moonlight and caught 

 a little of its tints, just the same as the Rufous dove 

 makes me think of the sunset and that its rosy 

 shade had just caught his, breast. 



At first sight you might think both these doves 

 plain and quiet-looking ; wait till you have kept 

 them for a time, and if you have a true love for 

 the delicacy and harmony of colouring in doves 

 you will learn to appreciate them properly. 



Once only since I bought my birds have I seen 

 the Solitary dove offered for sale ; a small impor- 

 tation of seven birds arrived in England, but I do 

 not know what became of them. The price asked 

 was very reasonable. 



My cock Solitary was sent ine in 1902 with a hen 

 Rufous dove, the two birds being said to be a pair ; 

 but the birds, though both belonging to the genus 

 Leptoptila, were quite different. My true hen 

 came to me in a strange way. A dealer, knowing 

 m_v weakness for doves, offered me this single 

 unknown bird for 5/-. I declined it, then fortu- 

 natel}' changed my mind and bought it, only to 

 find on its arrival it was a hen Solitary. For a 

 long time this hen could not fly ; she was strong 

 and healthy, but her wings were very sore. She 

 had evidently knocked herself very badly, and 

 there was one long wound from end to end of each 

 shoulder. 



In 1903 I put my three birds, namely, the two 

 Solitarys and a hen Rufous, together, two separate 

 nests were started at the same time, and fertile 

 eggs were laid, but I never reared any young ones. 

 However, I had learnt this inuch, that my birds 

 were a cock and two hens ; for up to this time I 

 was entirely ignorant as to even what the Solitary 

 Ground doves were. Later I procured a cock 

 Rufous, and these two pairs of doves and a pair 

 each of Aurita and Bronze-wings were all put into 

 the same aviary. At one time all four pairs were 

 nesting together, and all brought up young ones 

 that season. 



The Solitary doves nested in April ; two fine 

 young ones were hatched, but both died when a 

 few days old. There were at the time two young 

 Rufous doves just out, and the Solitary cock used 

 to help to feed these young birds and preen their 

 feathers. 



The next attempt of the Solitary' doves was in 

 the Rufous doves' old nest (they having chosen 

 another site), and for some time the little Rufous 

 used to return to their old nursery, sitting one on 

 each side of the cock Solitary as he sat, all three 

 being as contented and pleased as possible. This 

 second nest was started about May 30th, two fertile 

 eggs were laid, but when incubation had been 

 going on for about 13 days one egg was unfortu- 

 nately broken. The other egg hatched into a fine 

 young bird, and as might have been expected 

 received the greatest care and attention from its 

 parents. The young Solitary did not seem to care 

 to return to the nest, having once left it, as the 

 little Rufous had done. It was one of the 

 strongest and most active young ones I have ever 

 bred, and after a few weeks was almost as large 

 as either of its parents. 



