20 



10 



female, shy and timorous, sits close to the rock, shifting her position a little as the male 

 advances, and sometimes stretching out her neck as if to repel him by blows. The male 

 continues his strutting and cooing, until the female, inadvertently coming upon the edge of 

 the shelf, flies off to the dark recesses of the neighbouring cave, where she has scarcely alighted 

 when her lover is again by her side. 



" Matters go on in this manner, and in the meantime a nest is gradually formed, which 

 consists of withered stalks and blades of grass or other plants, not very neatly arranged, but 

 disposed so as to answer the intended purpose. Two beautiful white eggs, of an elliptical form, 

 one an inch and four twelfths in length, one inch and one twelfth in breadth, the other a little 

 shorter, are then deposited ; and in due time the young make their appearance. During incuba- 

 tion the male supplies his mate with food, which she picks from his throat as he forces it up 

 from the crop. Even at other times the female often goes up to the male, introduces her bill 

 on one side into his mouth, and obtains a grain of barley or morsel of other food. In about 

 three weeks the young come abroad, and, after being fed and instructed by their parents for some 

 days, are left to shift for themselves. 



" The old birds soon repair their nest, and rear another brood. I cannot speak with 

 certainty as to the precise number of broods raised in the course of a season ; but I know that 

 there are at least two. The first eggs are laid about the middle of April ; and the latest young 

 are seen about the end of September. It appears to me probable, from circumstances which 

 have come under my observation, that the same nest is used for different broods ; and it is 

 commonly believed, and not improbable, that these birds pair for life. The young are fed by 

 their parents, who, applying their open mouth to that of the nestling, the mandibles of which 

 enter the pharynx, force up the food from their crop so as to be within reach of the bill of the 

 young, which all the while flaps its wings, and utters a loud cheeping note, indicative of its 

 eagerness to have its wants supplied." 



As above stated, the nest of the Rock-Dove is a mere flat collection of dried or even fresh 

 grasses, a few sprigs of heather, or a little seaweed ; and the number of eggs is two. These latter 

 are pure white, rather glossy in texture, and in size nearly the same as those of Columba cenas. 

 Like all its allies the Rock-Dove drinks often, and when in desert places will fly far to obtain 

 water. Mr. Taylor remarked that those which used to come to the Nile to drink would actually 

 settle and sit on the surface of the water for some time like Sea-Gulls. 



The specimens figured are — in the foreground the ordinary white-rumped form, and in the 

 background that with the dark rump. 



In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens : — 



E Mus. H. E. Dresser. 



a, 6 , a, 2 • Faeroes, May 1862 (A. Benzon). c, <3 , d, $. Tagania, Albania, November 1871 (Hanbury- 

 Barclay). e. Bizerta, Algeria, February 1858 {P. L. Sclater), /, d . Futtegurh, India, October 23rd 

 {A. Anderson). 



