MOURNING DOVE. 
(Zenaidu/ra carolinen’sis.) 
head and neck ochry brown, the sides of the neck glit- 
tering with golden and ruby iridescence. Under parts 
purplish. Black spots on some of the wing coverts. 
Lateral tail feathers, plumbeous-bluish crossed with a black bar. 
Outer four ended with white. Bill, black; iris, brown; bare skin 
around eye, livid bluish; feet, red. Length, 12.50; female some- 
what smaller and duller in color. 
Temperate North America, everywhere. Irregularly migra- 
tory. Almost always feeds on the ground. Nest on ground or 
in bushes; sometimes in trees. Eggs, two, white, equal ended. 
Their cooing continues through the mating season. 
iG PPER parts grayish blue shaded with brownish olive; 
“Taura’s table,’ said Miss Sweet, “is about the 
Mourning Dove, which obtains its name from its plain- 
tive note. It is also called Carolina Dove. The name 
Dove seems to be given to the smaller members of the 
group of birds which by ornithologists are commonly 
called Pigeons. I have included it with the resident 
birds, because I desire you to observe the habits of 
domestic Pigeons. 
‘The Dove from the earliest period in history has 
been associated with the idea of a messenger (Genesis 
viii., 8-12), which is, I believe, the first place in the 
Bible where the Dove is mentioned. Its use as a mes- 
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