126 BIRDS OF ALABAMA 



plantation 8 miles west of Montgomery it is reported fairly 

 common, and at Barachias, 9 miles east of Montgomery, it 

 occurs in small numbers, I saw several birds there, June 15, 

 1912, in tall Johnson grass on the prairie, and they doubtless 

 breed in the vicinity. Golsan reports the species a fairly 

 common breeder at Autaugaville ; he took a set of eggs there, 

 May 28, 1911 and a female collected on September 23, 1915, 

 conatined well-developed eggs. I saw a ground dove in a 

 road near Prattville, May 30, 1913, and one was reported to 

 me at Teasley Mill, May 15, 1914. 



Avery records the species as rare at Greensboro, and men- 

 tions having examined several specimens brought to him for 

 identification.! At Leighton, McCormack considers the bird 

 only accidental, he having taken 2 specimens, one on May 4, 

 1889, and the other on February 24, 1921. 



Small doves (single individuals) presumably of this species 

 were reported to me at Bayou Labatre, November 20, 1915, 

 and at Ashford, November 30, 1916. 



General habits. — This little dove frequents sandy, cultivated 

 land, old fields, and hay meadows. It is a gentle, unsuspicious 

 bird, often feeding unalarmed in dooryards or gardens. When 

 on the groimd it walks gracefully, with its short tail held up- 

 right. Its flight is low and usually not very protracted, the 

 brownish markings on the wings serving to distinguish it. 

 It occasionally alights in bushes or low trees, but is most often 

 found on the ground. Its soft, mournful notes — coo-oo, coo-oo, 

 eoo-oo — ^may be heard for long periods during the day. 



Wayne states that in South Carolina the bird nests from 

 April to November, rearing perhaps four broods. The nest 

 is placed on the ground or in low trees or bushes. The eggs 

 are white, and two in number. 



Food habits. — ^Like the common mourning dove, this species 

 feeds chiefly on weed seed, grass seed, and various small 

 berries. Two stomachs examined from Alabama contained 

 seeds of sedges and of wood sorrel (OxaUs). 



tAvery, W. C, Ama. Field, vol, M, p. B84, 1890. 



