Habits of the White-winged Dove. 
interest centered in the large congregations to be found in 
suitable tracts of mesquites. These rookeries were often of 
considerable extent. One located three and one-half miles 
south of Arlington extended over an area a quarter of a mile 
square, while another three miles beyond occupied a grove 
nearly half a mile wide and an equal distance in length. The 
birds maintained regular flights across country and gathered 
in flocks to feed, so that they were conspicuous figures in the 
bird life of the region. It was difficult to estimate the number 
present, as they were scattered about in dense groves of 
mesquites, but it was believed that there were at least two 
thousand pairs in the largest colony examined. The total 
number present in the area was large. It appeared that the 
period for breeding among these birds was somewhat irregular. 
A part of them evidently began to nest soon after their arrival, 
as a number tliat were feeding young were ol)served on June 6tli. 
Others were nest-building on June 17th, so that the entire period 
of reproduction was somewhat prolonged. In the colonies 
nests were scattered about irregularly through the mesquites. 
Sometimes two or three nests were placd in the same tree, or 
again one pair occupied a tree alone. 1 Here was no crowding 
and apparently the birds, while gregarious, were too truculent 
to permit close proximity of nests. Often two or three trees, 
suitable in every way for the primitive needs of these doves, 
intervened between occupied sites. 
In most cases the nest, slight in structure, tuough usually 
somewhat larger and bulkier than that of the Mourning Dove, 
was placed in a mesquite, though a few were observed on tlie 
desert in palo verdes. Nests were built on inclined living limbs 
where forking of small branches gave a firm, broad support. 
The site varied from six to twenty feet from the ground, with 
about eight feet as an average height. In most of those that 
were examined the structure was composed of dead twigs 
of the mesquite, small in diameter, and from six to ten inches 
long. For the inner layers small twigs were chosen that 
been dead for some time, so that the spines, abundant on 
mesquite limbs, crumbled at a touch and caused no discomfort 
to the brooding bird or to the young. The nest was flat and 
had merely enou,gh depression to receive the eggs that often 
