TURTLE DOVE. 119 
TURTLE DOVE. 
TurturR communis, Selby. 
Pl. XVIL, fig. 17. 
Geogr. distr.—Temperate Europe generally, migrating to Africa 
for the winter; also found in Western Asia; not at all common in the 
southern counties of Great Britain, somewhat rarer in the north, local 
and uncommon in Ireland. 
Food.—Seed, peas, mast, nuts, and young shoots. 
Nest.—A platform of twigs, bound together in the centre with 
roots; it varies considerably in size; one taken by myself, in 1883, 
measures as much as 12 inches by 163 to the extremities of the twigs, 
whilst another only measures 7 inches by 9; the latter is somewhat 
smaller than the average of those which I have found. 
Position of nest.—In woods or groves, frequently not far from 
water, and where the undergrowth is somewhat dense, but often in 
woods far distant from any visible stream (though not far from human 
habitations), and where the undergrowth consists merely of a little 
scattered bracken: the nest is generally placed in a fork, and is rarely 
so far from the ground as to necessitate climbing in order to remove 
the eggs. 
Number of eggs.—Almost invariably 2; rarely 1. 
Time of nidification.—V-VI. 
I have generally found the nest of this bird, which is not 
uncommon in the Kentish woods, from the middle of May 
to the second week of June, but as a rule the eggs are more 
or less hard-set by the end of May, so far as my experience 
goes. I have found the bird by no means easily frightened, 
sitting apparently without concern upon its eggs until I 
had almost touched it, and then flying off without flurry or 
excessive noise. Indeed I have noticed that those birds 
which are ready at the first alarm to desert the nest 
invariably make the most fuss about it, just as bad mothers 
and wives always lament most loudly when they lose 
children or husband. 
In a nest, containing one egg only, which I recently 
found, the egg was somewhat malformed; there was not 
space in the nest for two. 
