162 COLUMBID^ COLUMBA 



tinged with maroon and not nearly so conspicuous : the subterminal 

 black band on the tail is well marked. Iris dirty white passing to 

 cream colour, bill and bare skin cinereous ; legs reddish-brown. 



Distribution. — This species is confined to South Africa, being 

 represented in Bast, Central and West Africa by the very closely 

 allied C. guinea, which has a much paler grey or ashy-white rump. 

 The Speckled Dove is found throughout the greater part of our 

 area, though hitherto, so far as I am aware, it has not been noticed 

 in Ehodesia. 



The following are localities : Cape Colony — Cape division, nest- 

 ing (Layard), Paarl (Shelley), Caledon, March, and Swellendam 

 (S. A. Mus.), Deelfontein, resident (Seimund), Orange Eiver near 

 Aliwal North (Whitehead), Hay division (Burchell), Dry Harts 

 Eiver in Vryburg (Ayres), Port Elizabeth, nesting (Brown), Bast 

 London (Eickard), Ibeka in Transkei (Oakley), Port St. John's, 

 November (S. A. Mus.) ; Natal — Ifafa, breeding, and Upper Zululand 

 (Woodward), Maritzburg (Ayres), Ingagane Eiver (Butler) ; Orange 

 Eiver Colony — Vredefort Eoad (B. Hamilton) Ficksburg, breeding 

 August (Sparrow), Basutoland, common (Murray) ; Transvaal — 

 Eustenburg, Pretoria and Potchefstroom (Barratt and Ayres), 

 Modderfontein, breeding, March (Haagner) ; German South-west 

 Africa — Great Namaqualand and Damaraland (Andersson and 

 Fleck). 



Habits. — The Speckled Pigeon appears in very large numbers on 

 plough lands when the crops are getting ripe, and does a vast 

 amount of harm pulling the green corn and also eating the grain 

 when ripe. They are wary birds, and very strong on the wing, but 

 afford good sport and are usually fat and well tasting. 



They roost as a rule on krantjes among the mountains, in the 

 neighbourhood of which they are usually more abundant. The note 

 closely resembles that of the domestic tame Pigeon, being a sonorous 

 cooing ; the cock also bows to its mate in the same fashion. 



Layard found this bird breeding in large numbers in the caves 

 along the shores of the Cape Peninsula ; he states " Some years ago 

 we entered one of them in a boat and for the first time had the 

 pleasure of seeing this fine Pigeon breeding in considerable numbers ; 

 every ledge of the cave inside was tenanted by as many nests as 

 could conveniently be stowed away, while the parent birds were 

 continually arriving or departing on their busy task of feeding their 

 young." Butler found nests on the ledges of the krantjes near the 

 river Ingagane in Natal in July (midwinter) and also in October. 



