54 MY FOREIGN DOVES AND PIGEONS. 
and I am inclined to think would nest nearly all 
the year round if permitted. The colouring of the 
young cocks is only very gradual, but should show 
definitely by the end of the nesting season. 
There is one point in the nesting of the Dwarf 
turtles that I have not noticed in any other doves, 
and that is the frequency of both birds leaving the 
eggs whilst sitting. Time after time I have seen 
both birds off the nest when I have known that 
they have eggs, and yet the eggs almost invariably 
hatch; it is quite the exception for them not to do 
so. The eggs are small and white and rounded 
at both ends. 
In accident or illness the Ruddy Turtle is one 
of the bravest little birds I know. Once a cock 
bird that I still have almost scalped himself against 
the wires—the top of his head was a terrible sight, 
not merely grazed, but bleeding very badly. I 
painted the wound (after bathing it) with “New 
Skin,’? which is a liquid court plaister. Jt is a 
most excellent remedy, but for a few momenis 
after being applied smarts most painfully, though 
afterwards the feeling is a very soothing one. I 
held the little dove all the time in my hand (till 
the painting was dry) and he scarcely flinched and 
never cried out, though the pain must have been 
very great. The large wound healed splendidly, 
and to look at the bird now you could not tell he 
had ever received an injury, for the feathering on 
his head is perfect. 
NECKLACED DOVE. 
(Turtur Tigrinus). 
Habitat.—Burma, Malay, Peninsula, Sunda 
Islands, as far south as Timor, and the Moluccas, 
where most likely it is found only during the 
winter. 
Length.— About 11 inches. 
but not too slender. 
Colouring.—Adult male—Head vinous grey, 
greyer on cheeks and forehead. The back is dark 
brown, each feather being tipped with a buff spot; 
round the back of the neck is a very broad black 
collar all spotted over with tiny white dots. The 
chin and centre of throat white, while the breast 
is dull vinous, becoming paler on the under parts. 
The feet reddish flesh-coloured, bill black, iris 
reddish pearl. The long tail black, white, and 
grey. The female is similar to the male, but 
smaller and slighter. 
Shapc, rather long, 
WILD LIFE. 
Mr. Oates writes of the Malayan Spotted Dove 
(which is very much akin to the Necklace, and is 
sometimes sold as the latter bird) that it is 
“extremely abundant -over the whole province (of 
Burmah). This familiar dove is met with in all 
the open and cultivated parts of the province, and 
also in small numbers in forests and dense jungles; 
it does not, however, ascend the higher hills. It 
feeds entirely on the ground, on seeds and grain.” 
“Tt breeds almost all the year round, but chiefly 
from August to March, making a flimsy nest of 
twigs in low trees, bushes and bamboos, and 
laying two eggs.’” 
In ‘‘The Birds of Celebes’? we are told, ‘‘This 
species is kept in cages, and much loved as a pet 
in Sumatra and in the Malay Peninsula; in the 
former country it is regarded as something almost 
sacred, and absurdly high prices are demanded for 
specimens, but Hagen seems to have found that 
they were tréated with less reverence in East 
Sumatra, the males being kept for fighting 
purposes.”’ 
Davidson, writing from Tenasserim, describes it 
as resorting to gardens, fields, grassy lands, in fact 
wherever the country is open, sometimes singly, 
sometimes in pairs, small flocks or hundreds. It 
feeds on seeds, rice, and other grains. 
LIFE IN CAPTIVITY. 
This beautiful dove is also known in Germany 
by the name of the Pearl-necked Dove. In the 
year 1898, at the Palace Show, I bought my first 
pair of Necklaces for 15/-. They were supposed 
to be a pair, but I am not at all sure that the cock 
was not a near ally of the Necklace dove, namely, 
the Spotted Turtle. 
He was the most beautiful bird of his kind I 
have ever seen, and his eyes, instead of being 
orange, were a rich ruby red, and the buff mark- 
ings on his wings were much more like ‘‘spots,’’ 
being very round and distinct. When he puffed 
out his neck to coo his fine collar looked almost 
like a ruff. Amongst the many young ones I bred 
none equalled the old cock in his markings. He 
was sold to me as a Necklaced, not a Spotted dove, . 
and was said to be an imported specimen from 
Burmah. 
My hen was « most excellent breeding bird, and 
I reared eight young birds in about a year, and 
should have had many more (for there were 10 or 
11 nests), but so many eggs were broken, and some 
of the young ones hatched only to be forsaken. 
Of course it was very foolish to let my birds nest 
so often, but these doves were amongst my very 
first birds, and ] was very ignorant, having then 
had next to no experience in keeping doves. 
The Necklaces were very gentle and would never 
fight unless attacked first. The hen laid eggs 
regularly every few weeks, and if some disaster 
happened to them two more would be laid within 
the next few days. I remember they nested at first 
