THE ZENAIDA DOVE. 143 



48. Zenaida zenaida (Bonaparte). 



ZENAIDA DOVE. 



Columba zenaida Bonaparte, Journal Academy Natural Sciences, Phila.,v, 1825, 30. 

 Zenaida zenaida Ridgway, Proceedings U. S. National Museum, vm, 1885, 355. 



(B 449, C 372, R 462, C 545, U 317.) 



Geographical range: Florida Keys, Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, Porto Rico, Santa 

 Cruz, Sombrero, and coast of Yucatan. 



The breeding range of the Zenaida Dove within our borders is restricted 

 to the southern Florida Keys, where it seems to be an irregular visitor. 

 According to Audubon "they made their appearance among the islands at 

 Indian Key about the 15th of April, where they remained until. October, 

 returning then to the West India Islands whence they came and where they 

 are most numerous. 



"They breed on the few keys that are covered with grass and low shrubs. 

 They always place their nest on the ground, often with so little concealment 

 that it may be easily discovered by any one searching for it. Occasionally it is 

 placed between tufts of grass, the tops of which bend over and conceal it. A 

 small hole is scooped in the sand, in which a slight nest, composed of matted 

 blades of dry grasses, is placed, circular in form, and embedded in an outer 

 collection of dry leaves and twigs. The whole fabric is said to be more com- 

 pact than the nest of any other Pigeon." 1 



Mr. Charles B. Cory, in "Birds of the Bahama Islands" (p. 139), says: 

 "This beautiful Dove is found throughout the Bahamas, but does not appear to 

 be very abundant. It seems to be rather solitary in its habits, and is never met 

 with in flocks. The nest is composed of small sticks loosely put together. On 

 May 27 I procured a nest which was placed in the crotch of a fallen tree about 

 3 feet from the ground. It contained two white eggs." 



Dr. Henry Bryant, in the "Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural 

 History, for 1859," (p. 120), makes the following statement about this species: 

 "The Zenaida Dove, though more seldom seen in the Bahama Islands than the 

 White-crowned Pigeon, Columba leucocephala, is still by no means rare. It 

 never collects in flocks, and does not breed in communities like the former. In 

 its habits it is intermediate between the Z. carolinensis and the C. passerina. It 

 feeds and passes the principal part of its time on the ground, and when flushed, 

 flies off in a straight line, very much as the common Quail. The crops of those 

 killed by me were filled with small seeds, about the size of a mustard seed, 

 apparently all of the same kind. All the nests I saw were made in holes in 

 the rocks, and consisted, as is always the case in this family, of but a few 

 sticks." 



From these accounts it will be seen that the Zenaida Dove differs consid- 

 erably in its nesting habits in certain localities. According to Mr. W. T. 



'Birds of North America, 1874, Vol. in, pp. 379,380. 



