Mar., 1911 
DOVES ON THE PIMA RESliRVATION 
53 
birds, has a good test of his skill, as they fly very rapidly with seemingly little 
effort, and the rate of speed is hard to estimate. They will carry off a large load 
of shot too, and all things considered are a fine game bird. As soon as the young 
are growm both they and the parents congregate in large flocks and fly from feed- 
ing ground to watering place, thus affording a good chance at wing shooting. One 
evening in twenty minutes I counted over 700 fly past a bridge over a small irrigat- 
ing canal. 
In addition to the wheat, these doves feed on other grains and much weed 
seed. They are very fond of sorghum seed, and large flocks gather on a field of 
this plant. The giant cactus ( C'ereits ^I'g'anteiis) furnishes them a large amount of 
food also. They may be seen on top of the great columns as soon as the first blos- 
soms appear, thrusting their bills into the trumpet-shaped flowers, but whether for 
insects, pollen, or nectar was not learned. As soon as the fruit ripens, however, 
there is no doubt as to wdiat they are seeking. Their actions are a sufficient index 
even without the tell-tale red stain around their mouths. They frequent the cactus 
groves as long as any fruit is left, flying a long distance to reach this delicacy. 
Besides the danger from gunner, the Cooper Hawk is a menace, feeding often 
on the fat pigeon. I have seen a Marsh Hawk after a White-wing wdth a broken 
wing but do not think any but wounded birds are ever attacked by this species. 
Along in August the big flocks begin to grow less, the birds probably scatter- 
ing out and seeking feeding grounds more distant from the breeding grounds. 
Toward the first of September they begin to thin out in earnest and by the 15th of 
the month very few are seen. Individuals may linger a little longer, as in 1909 I 
saw one as late as October 12, and in 1910 the last seen was on September 25. A 
few lingered on a sorghum field up till September 10 of this year but were not seen 
any later. 
In April, soon after the birds arrive, I have shot some that looked likey oung or 
immature birds. Possibly some individuals may raise a brood before leaving their 
winter home or these may have been very late hatched squabs of the previous sum- 
mer. I am inclined to think they were hatched earlier in the season in their south- 
ern resort before the northern movement began, as there always seems to be a lot of 
doves sitting around or flying in small squads who seem to have no family cares. 
These may be the parents who have already performed their duty. 
Nesting begins soon after arrival in the spring and as only a slight platform is 
built for a nest, not much time is lost in construction. The nest is practically the 
same as that of the Mourning Dove though perhaps a little larger, as the White- 
wing is some larger. They nest in a sort of scattered colony, and frequently two 
and three nests are seen in a large mesquite tree. In some favored groves about 
every third big tree has one or more nests. Much of the nesting is done in May 
and June, and in July they are congregated in large flocks. The earliest date I 
have recorded for eggs was May 10, and at that time a great many new nests were 
seen. In 1908 and 1909 most of the nesting seemed to be done in May and June, 
but in 1910 the season reached well into July, as in that month I found twent 3 "-one 
nests containing eggs or young birds. Possibly nests ma^" have been found in July 
of the other seasons had I been as assiduous in searching for them. I kept on the 
lookout during all three years but was particularly on the alert last July, as the 
previous August I had found a nest with eggs on the 2nd of that month, and I 
wished to specialize on the late nesting. This August nest contained eggs nearly 
hatched, and the bird brooding them looked like an immature one, a bird of the 
year, which possibly was the case. 
Nests are always, as far as my observation goes, placed in trees or shrubs at 
