TURTLE-DOVE. 
253 
apprehensive of unseen dangers. During these inanceuvres 
the flapping of their many thousand wings causes a reverbera- 
tion suggestive of thunder. When at last settled upon the 
ground, they industriously search among the fallen leaves for 
the acorns and the beech-mast, the rear flocks continually 
rising, passing over the main body, and re-alighting. These 
changes are so frequent that at times the whole collection 
appears to be in motion. A large extent of ground is thus 
cleared in a surprisingly short space of time, and cleared with 
a completeness that is described as incredible. They are 
usually satiated by the middle of the day, and ascend to the 
trees to rest and digest their food. On these occasions the 
Pigeons are destroyed in immense numbers, and their 
abundance in large extents of the country has been very 
sensibly reduced.” 
Nest. — Composed of a few dry twigs laid crosswise and built 
upon the branches of trees. (Brewer, t.c. p. 373.) 
Eggg. — Two in number, pure white. Axis, i‘4-i'6 inches; 
diam., i'o-fi6. 
THE GROUND-PIGEONS. FAMILY PERISTERIDHi. 
In this family of Pigeons the bill is not hooked, and the 
nostrils are parallel to the edges or tomia of the upper 
mandible. The tarsus is equal to, or longer than, the middle 
toe and the number of tail-feathers varies from twelve to twenty. 
THE TURTLE-DOVES. SUB-FAMILY TURTURINiE. 
In this Sub-family there are no long hackles on the neck, 
neither is there any black spot beneath the ear-coverts, as in 
the ZenaidincB. Count Salvadori gives the following supple- 
mentary characters:— No metallic spots on the wings; tail of 
twelve feathers, rather broad ; tarsus naked on the upper 
part ; neck with a dark collar, more or less distinct, or with 
scale’-like patches on the sides. 
The Turtle-Doves, which includes five sub-genera — lurtur, 
Homopelia, Streptopelia, Spilopelia, and Stigmatopelia—^x^ 
entirely confined to the Old World, over the whole of which 
they are distributed. 
