RING DOVE 177 
and fragments of buds, which lay plentifully on the ground 
below. 
The same observer was told by a man who formerly lived 
near Sulby that he has there on still nights caught these 
birds by burning sulphur below the trees where they 
roosted, when they would fall stupefied to the ground with 
a heavy thud. 
Such woodland as exists in the Isle of Man is pretty 
generally inhabited by the Ring Dove at nesting time, and 
it breeds freely in the strips of plantation along the course 
of many of the upland glens. The nests are usually placed 
at no great height on the branches of the larch and other 
trees, and I have seen a nest which consisted of a few sticks 
added to the wreck of a (probably) Magpie’s of a previous 
year. Mr. Graves has seen a nest at Greeba in the fork of 
a pine. Towards the end of April and in May breeding 
becomes general, but as late as 19th September (1897) Mr. 
Graves found a nest built upon ivy covering a little rocky 
scarp in Glen Rushen, which contained a young bird and 
an egg just chipping. The face of the rock was sheltered 
by a small ash, the only tree in the neighbourhood. 
Mr. Allison long ago found on a rocky ledge in Glen 
Auldyn Pigeons’ eggs which he thinks belonged to this 
species. 
There are considerable tracts, especially at the north and 
south ends of the island, where almost the only trees are 
groups around the farm-houses, and from which the Ring 
Dove is nearly or altogether absent as a breeding species. 
The species is common and resident on all our neighbour- 
ing shores. Large numbers immigrate in winter to Ireland. 
It is a straggling visitor to Shetland, but now breeds in 
various localities in Orkney, and possibly in one or two of 
the Outer Hebrides. 
