THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Adult female. Differs from the male in having the sides of neck, fore-neck and chest 
pale brown, somewhat like the hind-neck. “ Bill brown ; iris hght red ; bare skin 
round the eye also red ; tarsi flesh-white, feet white ” (J. P. Rogers). 
Nest. “ A small, frail structure, usually composed of dry grass, including the flowering 
portions, and placed in the fork of a low or bushy tree ” (Campbell). 
Eggs. “ Clutch, two ; roundish in shape ; texture of shell fine ; surface glossy ; pure 
white. Dimensions in inches of proper clutches .78 to .72 by .6 to .59 ” (Campbell). 
Breeding season. Practically all the year round. May to September (Carter) ; January 
to March (Keartland). 
Incubation-period. Length of incubation in captivity twelve days (Butler). 
Gotjld* says : “ The Little Turtle-Dove is more frequently observed on the 
ground than among the grass ; I sometimes met with it in small flocks, 
but more often in pairs. It runs over the ground with a short bobbing 
motion of the tail, and while feeding is so remarkably tame as almost 
to admit of its being taken by the hand, and if forced to take wing it 
merely flies to the nearest tree, and there remains motionless among the 
branches.” 
Gilbert I observes : “It utters a rather singular note, which at times very 
much resembles the distant crowing of a cock. The term Men-na hrun-ha 
is applied to it by the natives [of Western Australia] from a traditionary idea 
that the bird originally introduced the Men-na, a kind of gum which exudes 
from a species of Acacia, and which is one of the favourite articles of food of the 
natives.” 
Mr. Keartland J remarks that : “ These lovely little Doves were found all 
along the Fink River, and were particularly plentiful at Deering Creek, Darwent 
Creek, Reedy Hole and Heavitree Gap. Durmg warm days they were fond 
of sheltering themselves beneath any shady bush, but in cool weather and in the 
morning and evening were seen in large numbers feeding on the ground or 
drinking at the water-holes. The sites selected for breeding were generally 
in debris in the low shrubs near water, where the birds either hollowed 
the surface slightly or added a few pieces of grass to keep the eggs from 
rolling off.” 
Mr. Rogers, writing from Wyndham, North-west Australia, says : “ On the 
night of August the 21st about 9 o’clock I flushed this bird from the grass. 
I saw by the light which I was carrying that it belonged to this species. Again 
on September the 29th, at very early dawn, I flushed another example from 
the ground, where it had apparently roosted aU night. There were several trees 
close by.” 
* Handb. B. Austr., II., p. 146. 
f In Gould’s Handb. B. Austr., II., p. 147. 
Horn Sc. Exp., II., p. 102. 
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