BIRDS OF PORTO RICO. 



51 



pernicious weeds. Although many ground doves are killed by sportsmen, the 

 species is too small to be considered a game bird, and because of its beneficial 

 habits it should be protected throughout the year. 



Following is a list of seeds identified in the stomachs of the ground dove, 

 together with the number of stomachs in which found : 



Many-seeded paspalum (Paspalum mil- 



legrama) , 1 



Other paspalums (Paspalum sp.) 7 



Crab grass (Syntherisma sanguinalis) _ 8 



Panic grass (Panicum fasciculatum) _ 29 



Panic grass (Panicum utowanwum) 1 



Other millets (Panicum sp.) 29 



Broad-leaved olyra (Olyra latifolia) — 1 



Rush grass (Sporobolus indicus) 1 



Wire grass (Eleusine indica) 30 



Egyptian grass (Dactyloctenium 



wgypticum 12 



Ichnanthus (Ichnanthus pollens) 1 



Fimbristylis (Fimbristylis sp.) 2 



Whitetop (Dichromena ciliata) 3 



Nut rush (Sclcria sp.) 3 



Sedge (Oarex sp.) 12 



Sanguinaria (Tradescantia sp.) 3 



Star grass (Hypoxis sp.) 7 



Wild fig (Ficus crassinervia) 2 



Wild fig (Ficus sp.) 1 



Knotweed (Polygonum sp.) 3 



Goosefoot (Chenopodace© sp.) 19 



Cenizo (Chenopodium album) 2 



Pigweed (Amaranthus gracilis) 1 



Carpet weed (Mollugo vcrticillata) 1 



Verdolaguilla (Talinum paniculatum) _ 1 



Verdolaga (Portulaca oleracea) 37 



Fresa (Rubus sp.) 1 



Vetch (Vicia sp.) 18 



Wild bean (Phaseolus lathyroidcs) 2 



Vinagrillo (Oxalis sp.) 3 



Caltrop (Kallstrosmia maxima) 19 



Euphorbia (Euphorbiacea? sp.) 14 



Spurge (Chamwsyce sp.) 7 



Jatropha (Jatropha sp.) 3 



Croton (Croton sp.) 5 



Malvaceae sp 27 



Escoba (Sida sp.) 28 



Bretonica prieta (Melochia nodiflora). 



Flacourtaceee sp 



Nightshade (Solanum sp.) 



Nigua (Tournefortia sp.) 



Llanten (Plantago sp.) 



Rubiacese sp 



Gherkin (Cucumis sp.) 



Concombre (Cucumis anguria) 



Dog fennel (Anthemis sp.) 



MOIVA GROUND DOVE. Chwmepclia passerina exigua Riley. 

 Rolita, Rola. 



The subspecies of the ground dove found on the island of Mona (the type 

 locality) is reported by Bowdish, the original collector, as abundant there from 

 August 9 to 21, 1901. It has without doubt the same habits as the mainland 

 subspecies, but differs from it in being smaller and paler. No ground dove was 

 found on Desecheo Island. 



PORTO RICAN DOVE. Zenaida zenalda lucida Noble. 1 



TOETOLAj SANJUANEEA. 



The Porto Rican dove is common all through the region covered by this report. 

 On Porto Rico it is largely a bird of the cultivated valleys and lowlands, 

 roosting in clumps of trees, coffee plantations, or small areas of second 

 growth and flying down to feed morning and evening in the fields and citrus 

 groves. Its flight is strong and direct, and it flushes with a loud clapping of 

 wings. On the ground it resembles the mourning dove, as it walks quickly 

 about with nodding head, and has a cooing note almost indistinguishable from 

 that of the latter bird. 



During the breeding season the males frequently sail out in circles, with 

 wings held stiffly, and their cooing notes come from the hillsides all day long. 

 Several times, while mating, males were seen walking rapicliy about on the 

 ground near the females, striking at each other with their wings. Breeding 

 birds were taken in February and a young bird, not quite adult but able to fly, 

 was collected near Manati July 8. Although in some localities the birds nest 

 on the ground, here they must nest in the trees, or they would not be able to 

 hold their own against the mongoose. 



1 Proc. New Engl. Zool. Club, V, Oct. 4, 1915, p. 101. 



