Birds. 919 



which he fastens at the top of a tree, availing himself of the well 

 known propensity of this bird to alight where a companion has 

 already alighted. The ring dove in confinement I find to be a dull 

 fellow. He sits dozing all day, apparently taking little notice of 

 what may be going forward ; will give an unneighbourly peck at any 

 trespasser on his perch ; goes down to feed with the Surat doves, 

 confined in the same large cage; bears most philosophically the 

 flapping which the male Surat dove is pleased to inflict ; gobbles up 

 his crop-ful with all speed ; and then returns to his perch, to rumi- 

 nate on I know not what. Both birds, for I have a pair, are easily 

 frightened, and are not at all sociable ; will lose their dinner rather 

 than come down to feed while I am by, though T reared them from the 

 nest, and had the no small trouble of shovelling down their throats 

 peas, barley, bread, water, and gravel three times a day for weeks ! 

 They will occasionally exchange pecks with their companion the 

 kestril, if they chance to find themselves on the same perch with 

 him ; but listlessness is their striking characteristic. 



The Stock Dove I had despaired of finding ; when on December 

 26th, 1 844, R. Loe sent me a pair of these birds, shot by a farmer at 

 Alverstone, in the parish of Newchurch. One or two more were 

 seen. I suspect these birds to have been only accidental visitors, 

 driven hither probably by the severe frost. 



The Rock Dove also appears to visit us only occasionally, in larger 

 or smaller flocks ; though once it bred — at least so says tradition — 

 in considerable numbers in the Culver cliffs ; whence the name is 

 derived. Under the head rock dove, as the supposed origin of the 

 dove-cot variety, I may mention a curious change of habit in one of 

 these birds. Early in the month of January of this year (1845) I 

 was informed that in Appuldurcombe Park a common house-pigeon 

 was seen associating with the ringdoves. R. Loe, while watching for 

 deer, saw it settle in the trees over his head, in company with three 

 or four ringdoves. Mi\ H. Loe, the park-keeper, observed it several 

 times feeding in the woods with the ringdoves : and his assistant had 

 noticed it for more than a month. It had acquired all the shyness 

 and wariness of the ringdove ; and preferred the society of the wild 

 birds to that of the well-fed flock in the pigeon-house at Appuldur- 

 combe. Jan. 6th it was shot for me by the son of the park-keeper, 

 from amongst a flock of a hundred ringdoves, its crop stuffed with 

 acorns. It has all the appearance of a common dove-cot pigeon, and 

 is what is commonly called copper-coloured. 



The common Pheasant is still plentiful where preserved. It was 



