84 



MY FOREIGN DOVES AND PIGEONS. 



nately it was some time before tlie culprit was dis- 

 covered. Again, I believe the fault was partly the 

 doves' own, for they would sit together in the nest, 

 and one or more young birds was smothered. 



Mr. Castle-Sloane, who succeeded in breeding 

 the Violet dove very shortl)' after I did, gives the 

 period of incubation as 12 to 15 days. I do not 

 know how long my own birds sat, for the nest was 

 high up, and in such cases it is difficult to note it. 

 Through the bottom of the wicker nest-basket I 

 could see the young birds moving inside the nest, 

 but the parents guarded them very closely. 



On June 24th the first young one left the nest, 

 being then about a fortnight old. The old birds 

 might have known what a rarity the little nestling 

 was, for they were in a state of the greatest excite- 

 ment. "Narcissus" being left to guard the little 

 daughter in the nest, whilst "Bessie," the hen, 

 took the small son into her sole charge. She was 

 intensely proud of him, and, though really a good- 

 tempered bird, her anxiety made her rather 

 irritable to other birds in the aviary. 



I was away from home at the actual time the 

 young Violet came out of the nest, and only re- 

 turned the day after the event, when I found the 

 young one very snug and happy on a bed of hay 

 in a large (lidless) box that my brother had 

 thoughtfully put for it in the aviary, to protect it 

 from the attacks of other birds and other dangers 

 that might have befallen it. 



Three days after the first young bird left the 

 nest the second followed ; for some hours it had 

 been getting restless, and came down late in the 

 afternoon. This young bird was rather smaller ■ 

 than the other and whiter on the forehead. Their 

 colouring was as follows : — Eyes brown ; forehead, 

 throat and breast whitish drab; back and wings 

 chocolate brown, with chestnut spots on the wings 

 (like the spots on a Necklace dove) ; under-parts 

 white, outer feathers of tail white, remainder of 

 tail grey brown ; legs dirty flesh-coloured ; length, 

 between six and seven inches. 



The parents took the greatest care of the )'oung 

 birds, and "Bessie" would sit in the sun with a 

 baby dove on each side of her. I never noticed 

 the young ones being fed ; the eldest was seen to 

 be pecking seed when about a month old. 



On July nth there was one of the most terrible 

 storms I have ever seen, with thunder, lightning, 

 and a torrent of very heavy rain. I hurried down 

 to the aviary only to find the baby cock thoroughly 

 enjoying himself and spreading out one tiny wing 

 to catch the rain. Both young birds got very wet, 

 but took no harm. The wing spots in the young 

 birds had almost disappeared by July 21st, and 

 about ten days earlier the sheen had begun to come 



in the neck of the elder bird, and the violet side- 

 neck patch to show ; by the end of July there was 

 not much difference between the old and young 

 birds. 



Both the old and young Violet doves were very 

 fond of shelled and cut-up peanuts, and it was by 

 this inducement that I managed to take their 

 photograph. The bird in the foreground is "Nar- 

 cissus," but it does not do him justice. 



The Violet doves nested again, but both young 

 died in the nest ; they looked as if they had been 

 crushed — possibly they were smothered by the old 

 birds sitting together. "Narcissus" came to a sad 

 end about 5 years later. He was fought by 

 another dove (I suspect a Bleeding Heart) and both 

 his beautiful eyes blinded. He only lived a few 

 days, for his spirit seemed quite broken, and he 

 would not eat. 



The young hen also died in a tragic way, in 

 1904. I was setting the trap-cage to catch a 

 canary, and left the trap open and baited. As a 

 rule the birds soon learn to go in and out, but 

 apparently the young hen Violet would not feed. 

 She was found dead, and I was quite at a loss to 

 know from what cause. To my surprise and 

 distress a post-mortem revealed the fact that she 

 had died of hunger. I have never cared to use 

 the trap-cage since, but prefer to catch the birds 

 by hand. 



Since the days of "Narcissus" I have had several 

 importations of doves privately sent me from 

 Jamaica. I shall never forget what a lovely sight 

 about 14 or more Violet doves are when seen 

 together. I have never bred any since my first 

 two, though I once nearly reared a pair under 

 some Barbary doves. 



The Violet is a hardy dove; it was first kept at 

 the Zoo in 1867 ; the value varies very much, but 

 I should consider a good pair worth 25/- to 30/- 

 or more. I paid £2 for a pair of birds in very bad 

 feather some )-ears ago. 



WELLS' DOVE. 



{Leptoptila Wellsi). 



Habitat. — Grenada, Antilles, the Island of 

 Tobago. 



Length. — About 10 inches. Shape, well pro- 

 portioned. 



Colouring. — Adult male — The upper parts glossy 

 olive, hind part of head and nape dark olive brown, 

 washed with purple ; forehead pinky white, shading 

 into grey on the crown ; chin and upper part of 

 throat pure white ; lower throat, cheeks, and upper 

 breast dull vinous ; lower breast and under parts 

 white; wings and tail olive brown, feet crimson, 

 bill black, the naked skin round the eye blue. The 



