Birds of the Indian Hills 



In appearance it is very like the green pigeon of 

 the plains and is equally difficult to distinguish 

 from its leafy surroundings. The bronze- 

 winged dove {Chalcofhafs indica) I have 

 never observed at any hill-station, but it is 

 abundant in the lower ranges and in the Terai. 

 Every sportsman must be familiar with the bird. 

 Its magnificent bronzed metallic, green plumage 

 renders its identification easy. The commonest 

 dove of the Himalayan hill-stations is the Indian 

 turtle-dove {Turtur ferago). Its plumage is of 

 that grey hue which is so characteristic of 

 doves as to be called dove-colour. The turtle- 

 dove has a conspicuous patch of black-and- 

 white feathers on each side of the neck. The 

 only other dove seen in the hills with which it 

 can be confounded is the little brown dove 

 {T. cambayensis). The latter is a much smaller 

 bird, and I have not observed it anywhere 

 higher than 4500 feet above the sea-level. 



The spotted dove (T. suratensis) occurs in 

 small numbers in most parts of the Himalayas 

 up to 7000 feet. It is distinguished by the 

 wing coverts being spotted with rufous and 

 black. 



The Indian ring-dove ( T. risorius) also occurs 

 in the Western Himalayas. It is of a paler hue 



