GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 155 



THE TURTLE DOVE. 



The Turtle Dove {Tm-ficr atiritus) possesses a slender body, straight beak, slightly compressed 

 at the tips of both mandibles, long, weak-toed feet, long wings, in which the second and third quills 

 exceed the rest in length, and a very decidedly rounded, long tail. The feathers on the back are 

 brownish grey, edged with brown and spotted with black and grey in the centre ; the top of the head 

 and nape are light greyish blue, the sides of the throat adorned wth four black streaks, bordered with 

 silvery white ; the throat, region of the crop, and upper breast are deep red, the rest of the under side 

 is purplish grey, shading gradually into greyish white ; the primary quills are blackish grey, the 

 secondaries greyish blue, the shoulder-feathers of a blackish hue, broadly edged with rust-red. The 

 eye is brownish yellow, the eye-ring blueish red, the beak black, and the foot carmine-red. This 

 species is eleven inches long and nineteen and a half broad ; the wing measures si.\ and a half and 

 the tail five inches. 



The Turtle Dove is spread over the whole continent of Europe, even very far northward, but 

 is not found wil-iin the Arctic Circle. In the autumn it visits the shores of the Mediterranean, going 

 still farther southward as the season advances. It feeds on grain and vegetables, frequenting fields of 

 corn and peas. The note is a soft and mournful "coo," often uttered when the bird is on the ground. 

 The Turtle Dove is merely a summer visitor to the British Islands, arriving in April or May. It is more 

 numerous in the southern and midland than in the northern counties, but it has been seen both in Scot- 

 land and Ireland. It frequents woods and fir plantations, and also thick hedges of plouglied fields. 



The nest of this species is placed in the forked branch of an oak, in a fir-tree, or near the 

 top of a tall thick bush. Both parents sit by turns, the male sometimes feeding his mate, and both 

 combining to procure food for their young. In England, only one brood is produced during the year. 

 In the autumn, the Turtle Doves fly in parties of ten or twelve, departing at tlie close of the fine 

 season to winter in Africa. 



Jerdon tell us that among the Indian species the Ashy Turtle Dove most resembles that of 

 Great Britain. 



The INDIAN RING-DOVES {Streptopekia) have a shorter and less abruptly rounded tail 

 than that possessed by the members of the above group ; the line around the neck completely 

 encircles it, and the general coloration of the plumage is of a lighter shade. They are all remarka Jy 

 beautiful birds. 



THE INDIAN RING-DOVE. 



The. Indian Ring-dove {Streptopelda risoria) has a somewhat shorter and less decidedly 

 rounded tail than the Turtle Dove. The plumage of this species is principally of creamy yellow, 

 darkest on tlie back, and with the head, throat, and belly of a light shade ,; the neck is decorated with 

 a black collar ; the quills are of a blackish hue ; the eye is light red, the beak black, and the foot 

 carmme-red. The length of this bird is twelve and its breadth twenty inches ; the wing measures 

 six inclies and a half, and the tail five inches. 



The western part of India, Ceylon, Yemen, Arabia, and a great portion of Eastern Africa form the 

 habitat of the Indian Ring-dove. Reichenbach, it is true, discredits the statement of Le Vaillant 

 and other writers who have described this bird as being met with in Africa, and supposes that they 

 mistake for it a nearly-allied species : we can, however, positively assert, on our own experience, that 

 this Ring-dove has been observed not only near Aden, but in Africa, namely, in Samchara and the 

 forests near the Blue River, and that in extraordinary numbers. We are certain we are not mistaken 



