4o MY FOREIGN DOVES AND PIGEONS. 
September and October the flesh of the White- 
crowned (or Baldpate) has an ‘‘exquisite flavour.”’ 
This bird feeds largely on berries, and so many as 
thirty pigeons were observed eating on one tree. 
They feed twice a day, early in the morning and 
Jate in the afternoon, flying often over 20 to 30 
miles of sea to the feeding grounds. The White 
Crowned breeds in thousands on the many little 
islands, returning to the mainland to feed. 
The nest is built in bushes, about 3 or 4 feet 
from the ground, and is flimsy in structure. The 
general time of nesting is in June, and in August 
shooting parties go out to destroy the birds. 
Mr. Bonhote mentions that this pigeon is not met 
with in winter in the Bahamas, but whether they 
are migratory or hide in the thickest bush he does 
not know. In Cuba the White Crowned is said to 
be a resident species and very common. It 
frequents the forests throughout the year, and 
collects in large flocks when the berries are ripe; 
being gregarious, many birds will nest in the 
same tree. 
LIFE IN CAPTIVITY. 
The White Crowned pigeon is a very fine 
imposing-looking bird, but too large to be kept in 
a small aviary. Mr. Seth-Smith found it very 
wild, even a male bird bred in captivity in Jamaica, 
catching the wild fever from the hen. J have only 
kept a few specimens, but cannot say I found this 
the case; but all birds vary, and I fancy some of 
my White-crowned pigeons, though sent to me 
from their own country, had been kept in aviaries 
before. The friend who sent me them said that 
one of these birds was so good-natured it would 
even let a tiny Passerine dove try to bully it, 
the White-crowned regarding the little mite's 
onslaughts with good-tempered indifference. One 
of the chief beauties of this handsome pigeon is its 
lovely neck, which always reminds me «f the scales 
of a mackerel. Against its snowy crown and rich 
leaden-grey body the effect is very striking, and the 
fine upright carriage of the bird adds to its noble 
appearance. 
Although Mr. Seth-Smith’s birds were so wild 
they soon started to nest, the first two nests each 
containing one egg, which in both cases hatched, 
the young birds being deserted when a fortnight 
old, and subsequently dying. The two eggs of the 
third nest were hatched under tame pigeons and 
shared the same fate, the foster parents declining 
to go on feeding just when the young White- 
crowned were nearly able to fly. 
After so many disappointments it is pleasant to 
read that three young ones were reared later, the 
first nest (with one young bird) being built in a 
quiet corner in some faggots, about 4 feet from the 
ground. This bird was very wild, the two later 
hatched ones being not quite so timid; these latter 
were evidently a pair, for one was darker than the 
other and had a lighter cap. The first reared 
young bird was nearly as large as its parents when 
it left the nest, and was a dirty brownish-grey all 
over; there was no white on the crown, though 
it was a lighter shade than the rest of the body. 
In the before-mentioned ‘‘Birds of Jamaica’’ 
Gosse gives a most interesting account of some 
White-crowned pigeons that he kept when quite 
young birds. He says they were both ‘‘exceed- 
ingly ugly; long-necked, thin-bodied, the head not 
well rounded, the fleshy part of the beak promi- 
nent, and its base unfeathered. The whole 
plumage was blackish ash coloured, each feather 
slightly tipped with paler, and the feather of the 
head terminating in little curled grey filaments, 
which added to the uncouth appearance of the 
birds.’’ 
These pigeons became very playful; they were 
kept in a large packing-box that had been lined 
with paper, and this they delighted in stripping 
off with their beaks, or in pulling at the threads 
in a darn in the gauze front of their cage. One 
would pretend to rob a White-fronted dove of some 
orange pips (that were specially put down for the 
latter’s benefit), but would drop them again if he 
succeeded in getting one. This White-crowned 
would always take a grain of corn from Mr. 
Gosse’s hand, even if he did not eat it, and would 
seize his finger, when he put it through the gauze, 
and try to play with it most vigorously, sometimes 
quite inverting the head. Mr. Gosse noted that 
his birds cooed much towards the end of the year, 
and often during the night, especially in January, 
when the winds from the north raged about the 
house. 
The White-crowned pigeon was kept at the Zoo 
in 1865, and bred there the following year and 
many times later. The price of an imported pair 
is about 20/-. 
THE RUFOUS PIGEON. 
(Columba Rufina), 
Habitat.—Guatemala, down to 
Guiana, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru. 
Length.—About 12 inches. Shape, long and 
heavy, with rather short thick legs. 
Colouring.—Adult male—Forehead purple, back 
of crown and upper neck rich metallic blue green, 
lower neck purple (the line between this colour and 
the metallic blue-green being very clearly defined), 
upper breast purple, the upper wings and shoulders 
red purple, the lower wings olive, the long 
wing quills blackish, back and rump dark grey, 
tail blackish grey. The lower breast rather lighter 
Columbia, 
