THE BLACK-BEARDED DOVE (OR SPANISH PARTRIDGE). 93 
down of an excitable cock Bar-shouldered dove, 
who, with tail raised like a spread fan, used to 
perform before the Black-beardeds. Beyond look- 
ing a little astonished they would be quite un- 
moved. They kept much to the aviary floor, which 
is tiled, and whether from this cause or not I do 
not know, but one of the birds got thickened legs 
(almost like the scaled leg in a fowl). Mr. New- 
man (to whom I sent the dead bird, thinking he 
might like the skin) noticed this, and kindly sug- 
gested that nossibly it was caused through the bird 
not having grass to walk on, the tiles being too 
changing from grey to drab, and a Picui dove from 
grey to almost black. It would be interesting to 
know the true cause. 
For some years I kept these doves without their 
making any attempt to nest. I tried them in 
different places, but without success. In 1907 I 
put them in a low duck-house with a wire run 
filled with long grass, partially screened over to 
make a quiet corner, and I also put a sod of turf 
in the shut-off shelter in the inner part. But my 
hopes came to nothing, and in removing the birds 
to their winter quarters I let one escape. It was 
Photo by Mr. W. E. Teschemaker. 
hard. I followed his advice and moved the two 
remaining birds—whose legs also looked rather 
thick—into another aviary with a grass flight. 
Here they wonderfully improved, and further, one 
bird that had moulted out a lot of white feathers 
(instead of maroon, as they should have been) 
gradually lost all this, and became its proper colour 
again. 
At the present time my birds have no trace of 
white feathers in the dark plumage; does it mean 
that it is a sign of weakness to produce wrongly 
coloured plumage? In two other cases I have 
noticed a change of colour—a Diamond dove 
Younc Dwarr Grounp Dove. 
From ‘‘ Bird Notes.” 
off like a rocket, with a very strong and swift 
flight. I had little hope of seeing the bird again, 
as it flew towards the town, unless some honest 
person caught it and answered the advertisement 
that J at once saw was put out, offering a reward 
for its return. The remaining bird was shut off in 
the wire-fronted shelter, and the door of the flight 
left open, and a pot of food put inside to tempt the 
truant back if it should return. To my joy next 
morning the lost bird came back, and it was so 
hungry and pleased to see its mate again that it 
was easily caught with some grain placed in a 
trap-cage. The bird looked puffy for several days, 
