100 PIGEON. 



the beginning of May, the nest made of large dried stalks, and 

 fibres of plants, without any art ; lays two white eggs. Is a com- 

 mon bird in the plantations in winter, but the nest is not often met 

 with ; in fact, numbers of them depart southward, but many remain 

 in Pennsylvania, and other parts, the whole winter. It is a very 

 tame and familiar species, and sometimes collects in great numbers 

 during the cold season, at which time they are killed by the inhabi- 

 tants, as the flesh is savoury, and greatly esteemed. 



125— MARGINATED PIGEON. 



Columba marg-inata, Ind. Orn. ii. 614. Lin. i. 28G. Gm. Lin. i. 791. 

 Turtur American us, Bris. i. 101. Id. 8vo. i. 24. 

 Tourterelle d'Amerique, Buf. v. 552. 

 Long-tailed Dove, Edw. pi. 15. — male. 

 Margiriated Pigeon, Gen. Syn. iv. 6G4. 



SIZE of the Common Turtle ; length eleven inches. Bill horn- 

 colour, darker at the tip ; irides dull rufous ; from the gape to the 

 eyes a white streak ; the fore part of the head and throat rufous 

 brown; hindhead bluish ash-colour; between the two, under the 

 ears, a black spot, the size of a tare; neck behind, back, scapulars, 

 and wing coverts, dull brown ; the two last marked with oval black 

 spots, of different sizes; the lower part of the back and rump incline 

 to ash-colour; neck before and breast rose-colour, paler on the sides; 

 belly and under parts brown, mixed with ash-colour ; quills deep 

 brown, edged outwardly with rufous; tail cuneiform,* the two middle 

 feathers blackish, the others ash-colour, with white tips, and between 

 the two colours a black band ; legs red. 



Inhabits America. — Edwards's bird was brought from the West 

 Indies. M. Temminck supposes it the same as the Carolina Species. 



* Edwards says, that in his bird the tail was like that of a Magpie, and more than the 

 length of the body. 



