252 
The Mourning Dove. 
" them out ]M-eiTiaturc'ly. They left the nest at an averag-e ag:e for Oaklahama 
'■ Mourning- Doves, the oldest when 13 days old, and the others the 
" following day when u and 13 days old." 
" The second nest was situated in the crotch of an elm ten feet from 
" the ground; it was f.airK- hig, heing largely buiU of Iwigs. On May 3 
" there were two eggs in it. It was not examined again until May 9 
" when it was found to contain three eggs, one of which looked slighJy 
" yellowish. The first bird hatched May 16, the second May 17. and the 
" third not imtil May 22. Therefore the nestmates of the latter had a 
" great start, one being si.x da_\-s old and weighing 40.3 grams, and the 
" other five days old and weighing 37. S grams, wiiile the poor infant 
" weighed only -1-4 grams. The next day it had hardK g'ained at all. 
" weighing oidy 4.8 gr;ims, .and the d;iy .after it was dead; it had lieen too 
" tiny to compete with the big s(|Uabs. These latter hhd> left the nest 
" when 12 and 13 days old." 
" At least 35 sets of three eggs of Mourning Dov.cs have Ijeen 
" reported, but, as far as 1 can learn, only four instances of three young 
" in one nest. In only one of these is the comparative size of the young 
" mentioned. Thev were ' all of one size ' (^Vharraln). In our two cases 
" the only one that was entirel}- successful was placed in a robin's nest, 
" and the birds hatched within a day of each other; while in the other the 
" third bird that hatched five or six days after its nest mates lived only two 
" davs. These exucriences sut'trest two possible reasf)ns why three squabs 
" in a nest are such unusual occurrences. First, the ordinary dove nest 
" tnn frail to hold three birds to maturit\-. and secondly, the third bird mav 
" hatch so late that it is soon eliminated." 
Two photo reproductions illustrate the above interesting 
article, but I have not i-eprinted these, as I had not the permission 
of the photoi^rapher to do so, and one requires the actual photo 
to ^et an effective reproduction. In the course of my avicultural 
experience I have bred many forei.^n doves (in captivity) of 
vprious species, including' some of nearly allied species, but 1 
have never had a case in which the clutch has exceeded two 
eggs. In a few cases where one egg has been broken the egg 
has been replaced some days later, but in not a single instance 
has the heavily handicapped late comer lived more tnan a couple 
of days. 
The " Robin's Nest," mentioned in Mrs. Nice's article is, 
T assume, that of Turdiis migratorius. 
In the same issue of The Condor there is an interesting 
l),\rag'raph under Field and .Study Doves of Imperial Coiintw 
California , which has a reference to this species. It is as 
follows : — 
