COLUMBID^. 257 



This prctt}' Dove, although numerous as a summer visitor to many 

 parts of the kingdom, is one of those species vrhose dispersion to the 

 extreme west is limited in numbers. In. North Devon a pair or two 

 are generally to be seen near Fremington ; we have seen a pair close 

 to South Molton ; and we have from time to time encountered a single 

 Turtle Dove, or a pair, upon the road, in driving through the north of the 

 county. On Lundy Island we are assured by the llev. H. G. Heaven that 

 this Dove has occasionally nested in a small patch of stunted cover. The 

 Turtle Dove is generally first noticed at the beginning of May, and leaves 

 this county about Michaelmas. We have a note of one which we saw iii 

 our own grounds as late as October 23rd. Where the Turtle Dove is nume- 

 rous, as it is in some of the midland counties, we have known it to bo 

 sometimes sociable at the nesting-season, and once found three nests 

 together in a large thorn bush. In Somerset we have found a hedgerow elm 

 to be the favourite situation for the Turtle Dove's nest. This Dove is 

 fond of tall trees, perching among the higher branches, whence, unseen, 

 it utters its soft monotonous cooing notes, which on a hot summer's day 

 come with a soothing sound to anyone seeking the shade beneath. la 

 the days when there were Fens, great numbers of Turtle Doves used to 

 flock into the high sedge, finding some favourite food on the sheltered 

 ground, and afforded good shooting as they were flushed and fiew straight 

 off over the tops of the sedge ; but, in our opinion, they are only indifl'erent 

 birds for the table, and we never molest them when they rise before our 

 gun. Around Taunton the Turtle Dove is not uncommon, but throughout 

 Somerset it is very local in its distribution, there being districts where we 

 have never seen one. Mr. llodd mentions a flock of thirtj--four Turtle 

 Doves having been seen on the Scilly Islands in May 1871. Mr. A. G. 

 More (' Ibis,' 18(55, p. 142) states that, although the Turtle Dove is occa- 

 sionally seen in Cornwall, it is doubtful if it nests in the county, and we 

 possess no information upon the point. In Dorset it is about as plentiful 

 as in Devon as a summer migrant. 



[Observation. — The Collared Turtle {Tartur risorins), so frequently ke])t 

 in confinement, has occasionally been killed in a wild state near Plymouth, 

 and is said to breed in some of the large woods and plantations in that 

 neighbourhood (Zool. 1877, p. 41)3).] 



