TURTUE STJEATEJSTSIS. 707 



is sure to be found. It delights in the bushy trees which here and there have been left standing in the 

 cinnamon-gardens, and after it has satisfied its appetite on the grass-seeds which it finds in abundance in 

 this locality, flies about from tree to tree, or takes up its perch on an outspreading branch and coos to 

 its mate. When perched it is very wary and scarcely ever lets one approach it within gun-shot; but 

 when feeding in a newly-cut paddy-field, or about the native thrashing-places (which it constantly frequents, 

 even months after the grain has been gathered in), or on a road where it scrutinizes the dried-up 

 droppings of cattle or horses, or while elegantly tripping over some newly-burnt jungle-clearing (another 

 favourite resort), it will not rise till approached within a moderate distance, when, taking a few hurried 

 paces, it will fly off with a Pigeon-like clapping of its wings and settle down in the nearest inviting tree. 

 In the interior every paddy-field, every clearing in the forest, and eveiy cheena under cultivation has 

 its attendant flock of Doves, which find abundant sustenance in the grain or grass-seeds of such resorts. 

 Its coo is a plaintive note, not nearly so deep as that of the last species. It is, as Blyth remarks, difficult to 

 express in writing, and he likens it to the syllables oot-raow-oo-oot-raoiv-oo. 



Its flight is swift and graceful ; and during the breeding-season it indulges in sundry careerings on the 

 wing, rising in the air and then circling down with outspread wings to its perch, these performances being 

 apparently for the mutual gratification of the happy pair during this joyous time of their existence. 



From the clever pen of Layard we have the following passage eminently descriptive of this habit : — 

 " The male bird will at such times soar away from the branch on which his ' meek-eyed'' partner is reposing 

 to a considerable altitude, rising almost perpendicularly and clapping his wings together over his back, 

 then opening them and spreading his tail he sails downwards in decreasing circles and graceful curves 

 to the object of his affections, who greets him with the tenderest and blandest cooings, and, while he struts 

 and pouts before her, caresses his head and wings with her bill. The fervour of their love being assuaged, 

 away they both soar in the fulness of their joy, to descend again in undulating curves, crossing and recrossing 

 each other with the most easy and graceful flight, to the more sober and matter-of-fact work of collecting 

 building-materials for the nest." 



They feed in the mornings until about 9 a.m., and then again in the afternoon, commencing about 

 3 o'clock, when they may generally be seen on the ground at the edges of woods, copses, and groves, or on 

 native compounds often not far from the cottages. 



Nidification. — In the Western Province this Dove breeds from March until June, after which it no 

 doubt lays again, for the eggs may be taken almost at any time of the year. I have found the nests in 

 bushy umbrageous trees at about 10 or 15 feet from the ground, generally situated near the end of the 

 branch, also on low date-palms (a favourite situation), placed near the trunk at the origin of the frond. 

 They are made of fine twigs neatly laid over one another, some of them interlaced so as at times to form a 

 firmly constructed fabric, in the centre of which there is a just perceptible hollow. The eggs are two in 

 number, exact ovals, glossy, and pure white, measuring from TO to T12 inch in length by from - 8 to 

 O'lo inch in breadth. 



According to most observers in India, its nest is generally very exposed and often placed on low bushes, 

 where it can be seen by the most casual observer; and it is therefore no wonder that the eggs are 

 frequently taken by such incorrigible thieves as the Indian Corby and Common Magpie (Dendrocitta rufa). 

 Mr. Thompson, in writing of its nidification in the Lower Himalayas, where it is abundant, says : — " On a 

 nest being robbed the parent birds will forthwith set to work and build another ; and if that be robbed in 

 its turn, they will still go on seeking new sites, building new nests, and laying fresh eggs. 



" The female sits very close on her nest; but if forced from it she will at times fly or, in fact, throw herself 

 down on the ground before the intruder, and will then mimic before his astonished gaze all the actions 

 and efforts of a wounded bird trying to escape its pursuers, and thus endeavours to turn him from the nest." 

 Mr. Hume gives the average of 33 eggs as 1-06 by 0'82 inch, which is no larger than that of the Ceylon bird, 

 notwithstanding its slight inferiority of wing. 



4x2 



