66 
MY FOREIGN 
had a way of getting over on her back and 
being able to right herself again, but would lay 
quite helpless. Many a time she was rescued, 
but early one morning she was found dead, having 
got over on her back, and no one being by to save 
her. Dr. Butler mentions that one of his cocks, 
when weak and ill, also rolled over on its back, 
and perhaps it is an accident peculiar to this dove, 
for I cannot recall any other kind that does the 
same. 
The Cape dove is only imported now and then, 
and on the whole the price has risen. About eight 
years ago these birds were 13/6 the pair; now a 
good healthy pair will often fetch 20/-. This dove, 
like most of the smaller varieties, cannot stand our 
English winter without heat, and must be brought 
indoors in good time. 
not 
THE TAMBOURINE DOVE. 
(Tympanistria bicolor). 
Habitat.—The whole of South and South-Wesc 
s\frica, on the West Coast as far as Casamance, 
and on the East Coast as far as Mombas. It is 
found in Caffraria, also in) Madagascar, the 
Comero Islands, and Fernando Po. 
Length.—.About 8 inches. Shape, very rounded, 
and sturdy. 
Colouring.—The cock is dark chocolate-brown, 
but the forehead, face, breasi, and underparts are 
snowy white, the light and dark plumage being 
clearly defined and making a very beautiful con- 
trast. On the wings are a few metallic spots of 
dark green or purple. Under the wings the 
feathers are a warm cinnamon colour, but it is only 
noticeable when the wing is raised. This feature 
is very common in many other doves besides the 
Tambourine. The feet are crimson, the eyes hazel. 
In shape this dove is sturdy and compact. The 
hen is a decidedly lighter brown than the cock, 
and her white parts are much grever, while the 
wing spots are not metallic. 
WILD LIFE. 
The Tambourine was so named by Levaillant 
because he thought its cooing resembled the sound 
of a tambourine at a distance. Ile evidently con- 
sidered it a rare dove, as he informed M. 
Temminck that for 200 specimens of another 
species he could only obtain 27 of this. Levaillant 
records it as arboreal in its habits, and it is said 
to build in the great African woods on the summit 
of trees. 
Dr. Butler tells us that the Tambourine feeds 
largely on the dropped seeds of the castor-oil plant 
and other plants, and that it descends to the 
ground to feed. The flight in its wild state is 
DOVES AND PIGEONS, 
exceedingly swift. The coo, beginning slowly, 
grows faster and faster, Ull it ends in a vibration. 
The friend who sent over my three birds (two 
cocks and a hen) told me how very wild he found 
these doves when first caught, and that unless their 
wings were clipped they would dash upwards and 
either stun or kill themsclves against the cave top. 
One cock struck his head with such force that 
they believed him dead, but after a time he 
recovered, though a second one died. An interest- 
ing account is given by Mr. Robin Kemp of the 
Tambourine dove from his personal experience of 
it in Africa. 
A native brought him six or seven of these doves 
which he had trapped in a rice field. All their 
flight feathers, and in most cases their tail 
feathers, had been ruthlessly plucked out. This 
possibly was done to prevent the birds escaping, 
but on the other hand the natives seem to have 
no regard for the sufferings of animal and bird life. 
I have heard of them selecting the bluntesi knife 
they could find and sawing it across the neck of a 
chicken to prolong the poor thing’s agony when 
being killed. 
Mr. Kemp's birds seem to have been of both 
sexes, for some had white and others greyish 
breasts. He fed them on rice, with which diet 
they seemed quite contented, but he never 
succeeded in getting them to live in captivity for 
more than a few months. They were very plenti- 
ful (in South-Easc Sierra Leone) and resident 
throughout the vear. 
LIFE IN CAPTIVITY. 
The Zoological Gardens in Regent’s Park 
possessed three and one hen Tambourine 
dove as far back as i871. After 1883 it was im- 
ported freely, and then again it ceased. 
At the present time this dove seems hardly 
obtainable. A year or two ago a dealer told me 
he had sold some for about 1o/- a pair, but he did 
it not knowing what the birds were, nor their 
worth, as this sum is not a tithe of their real value. 
The three birds I had were very quiet—they seldom 
moved about the aviary, and did not interfere with 
my other birds. J] kept them in an aviary that 
can be heated in winter, for this little dove is only 
half hardy. Dr. Greene, who kept a pair of these 
birds, considered them charming; he likened the 
coo to the sound of water being poured from a 
bottle, the cock bowing and spreading his tail at 
the same time, when making love to the hen; she, 
however, was very quiet, and the only sound she 
ever made was a little ‘‘huh.”’ 
This pair of birds, in addition to their seed diet, 
were very fond of insects—flies, beetles, and ants, 
also mollusca, whether small snails or slugs; they 
cocks 
