The Endriraiicc of Birds. 
41 
have kept; fortunately tliis and other quarrelsome species are 
quite harmless with finches and other small birds, reserving- thei'- 
ill-humour for members of the Dove tribe. At first this species 
proved a shy l)reeder in captivity, beini;- more ready to nest and 
lay than to rear youn;;-. It has been bred in this country by 
several aviculturists and youn.i;- have been reared in my aviaries. 
I found it quite indifferent to the severest weather our winter 
inflicts upon us. and I have tested the species for a fair period of 
years. I should qualify the al)ove by statin,^- that Miss Rosi'j 
Alderson found it quiet and inoffensive — my experience, how- 
ever, of its quarrelsomeness is not isolated. 
Zebra Dove (G. striata): This .G:reatly resembles the 
preceding; species, but is a wee l^t larger and the narrow black 
barring of the breast is not so decided as in traiujuilla. I have 
had both quarrelsome and amiable pairs of this species, but all 
alike 1 have found more ready to nest, lay, and even hatch out 
youni;- than they are to rear. Youn,;^', however, have been reared 
in many aviaries including" my own, but I certainly did not find 
them a prolific species, neither did they bear extreme cold so 
well as traiiquilla. It is not a favourite species with me, very 
dull except for spells of wild dashing' about, and also very liable 
to al)norma] leng'theninL;' of the upper mandilile. some individu- 
als needinq' to liave it cut back rei^ularly and fairly frequently 
to enable them to feed comfortably. 
Diamond Dove ( G. cuncata ) : This is the pick of all the 
small doves, a species to 'thuse over — it is fairly amiable, ready 
to breed, and exquisitely beautiful. With me it has been quite 
hardy, and never appeared to suffer from winter's cold, however 
severe ; but they do appear unhappy during' long continued wet, 
and keep mostly luider a roof while such weather lasts. My 
first breeding pair nested seven times in a single season, hatch- 
ing out every egg (fourteen) and fully rearing eleven young 
birds, all of which successfully passed their first moult in my 
aviary before being distributed. The young are very precocious 
and usually leave the nest before they can fly and I have lost 
several at such times from some aviary-bully before thev were 
able to get out of the way, but such mishaps are not nimierous — 
in one season, out of fourteen young birds which left the nest 
I lost three from this cause. The nests are very small and frag- 
