SPOTTED WOOD-PIGEON 155 



from twenty to one or two hundred individuals^ and 

 roam much over the open country. It is a wary 

 bird, and when feeding walks on the ground in a 

 slow, somewhat stately manner. In spring its song 

 resounds in the woods, and, when heard for the first 

 time, fills the listener with wonder, so human-like 

 in tone are its long, mournful notes. The notes are 

 five, the last one prolonged, with a falling inflection, 

 and profoundly sorrowful. The nest is a platform 

 structure, frequently placed on a broad horizontal 

 branch ; the eggs are two, and closely resemble those 

 of the common Rock-Dove of Europe. 



SPOTTED WOOD-PIGEON 



Columba maculosa 



Above pale vinaceous brown, profusely spotted on the back and 

 wings with white apical spots; lower back and tail plumbeous; 

 wings and tail slatey black, the former with narrow whitish margins ; 

 beneath plumbeous, with a strong vmaceous tinge ; bill black, feet 

 yellow ; length 13, wing 8.3 inches. Female similar. 



This Pigeon has a general resemblance to the Pica- 

 2uro, but may be at once distinguished by its spotted 

 back and wings. It ranges from South Peru through 

 Bolivia and Western Argentina into Patagonia, where 

 it appears to be a resident. In winter the valley of 

 the Rio Negro is visited by it in immense flocks, 

 which are a great plague to the farmers, as they 

 descend in clouds on the fields and devour the wheat 



