7U4 TUETUK RISORIUS. 



Its Tamil name in the north of Ceylon is derived from this liking to the tree in question. In the north-west 

 portion of India it exhibits a similar taste, Captain Butler writing that " it is particularly partial to clumps of 

 babool-trees, Zi^yphus-hushes, and Euphorbia -hedges." It is essentially granivorous in diet, feeding on g7-ass- 

 seeds as well as corn of various kinds ; and in crop-season is stated by Mr. Cripps to collect in flocks of ten 

 to thirty for the purpose of feeding on grain. Its flight is strong, but not, I think, so swift as that of the 

 Spotted Dove. 



In South-eastern Europe it manifests a particularly tame disposition ; for Messrs. Elwes and Buckley, in 

 their paper on the birds of Turkey, say that it loves "the neighbourhood of dwellings, and may be seen sitting 

 like a sparrow on the roofs of the houses, where it is never molested by the Turks." 



Nidification. — Layard writes concerning the nesting of this Dove : — " It breeds in the spring, fabricating a 

 loose careless nest of small twigs in the Euphorbia-trees, in which it deposits two oval and shining white eggs : 

 axis 14 lines (T14 inch), diameter 11 lines (084 inch)." When I was in the Jaffna district, in March 1876, 

 I ascertained by dissection that it was then breeding, but did not find its nest. 



In the Mount Aboo district, according to Captain Butler, it breeds in great quantities at the end of the 

 rains, commencing to lay about the second week in August. Writing of a district on the opposite side of the 

 peninsula (Furreedpore, near Calcutta) , Mr. Cripps says, "This species breeds from December till July in small 

 bushes and trees at from 6 to 12 feet from the ground, in very exposed situations. The nest is a mere apology 

 of twigs, and never contains more than two eggs." Mr. Hume considers that it breeds throughout the 

 year, having taken the eggs himself "in every month from December till August." Although the nest is 

 usually placed on a tree or bush, it has been known to nest on bare ground; my late friend, Mr. A.Anderson, 

 to whom we are indebted for so much information concerning the nesting of Indian birds, writes: — " On the 

 20th of November (1875), while drawing sandy downs covered with low flowering grass, such as the Desert fox 

 delights in, a dove was flushed from off her nest, which contained a pair of fresh eggs. These clearly belonged 

 to T. risoria ; but not having seen the bird myself, and identification in a case of this sort beiug a matter 

 of absolute necessity, I replaced the eggs, and subsequently shot one of the parent birds. 



" The nest, if such it can be styled, consisted of a few dry twigs and grass-stalks which rested on the bare 

 sand. There was no tree nearer than a mile; but the ground on all sides was covered with grass-seeds, which 

 constitute the chief food of these birds; and this pair were evidently sensible enough to adapt themselves to 

 the force of circumstances." 



Mr. Hume describes the eggs as broad perfect ovals, white and glossy ; the majority have a just percep- 

 tible ivory tinge, and average in size DIG inch in length by 0'92 inch in breadth. 



