THE KEY WEST PIGEON, OR DOVE. 
17 
for the purpose of cleansing itself in the shelly sand that surrounds the 
island ; but the instant it perceives danger it flies off to the woods, throws 
itself into the thickest part of them, alights on the ground, and runs off with 
rapidity until it thinks itself secure. The jetting motions of its tail are 
much like those of the Carolina Dove, and it moves its neck to and fro, 
forward and backward, as Pigeons are wont to do. 
The cooing of this species is not so soft or prolonegd as that of the 
Common Dove, or of the Zenaida Dove, and yet not so emphatical as that 
of any true Pigeon with which I am acquainted. It may be imitated by 
pronouncing the following syllables : — Whoe-ivhoe-oh-oh-oh . When suddenly 
approached by man, it emits a guttural gasping-like sound, somewhat 
in the manner of the Common Tame Pigeon on such an occasion. They 
alight on the lower branches of shrubby trees, and delight in the neigh- 
bourhood of shady ponds, but always inhabit, by preference, the darkest 
solitudes. 
The nest of the Key West Pigeon is formed of light dry twigs, and much 
resembles in shape that of the Carolina Dove. Sometimes you find it 
situated on the ground, when less preparation is used. Some nests are 
placed on the large branches of trees quite low, while others are fixed on 
slender twigs. On the 20th May, one of these nests was found containing 
two pure white eggs, about the size of those of the White-headed Pigeon, 
nearly round, and so transparent that I could see the yolk by holding them 
to the light. How long incubation continues, or if they raise more than 
one brood in a season, I am unable to say. 
Towards the middle of July they become sufficiently abundant at Key 
West to enable sportsmen to shoot as many as a score in a day ; for, as soon 
as the young arc able to follow their parents, they frequently resort to the 
roads to dust themselves, and are then easily approached. Dr. Strobel 
told me he had procured more than a dozen of these birds in the course of 
a morning, and assured me that they were excellent eating. 
Their food consists of berries and seeds of different plants, and when the 
sea-grape is ripe, they feed greedily upon it. They all depart for Cuba, 
or the other West India Islands, about the middle of October. 
Until my arrival at Key West, this species was supposed to be the 
Zenaida Dove. The young, when fully feathered, are of a dark-grey colour 
above, lighter below, the bill and legs of a deep leaden hue. I am inclined 
to believe that they attain their full beauty of plumage the following 
spring. 
So much are these birds confined to the interior of the undergrowth, that 
their loves are entirely prosecuted there ; nor do they on such occasions 
elevate themselves in the air, as is the manner of the Carolina Dove. 
vol. y. 3 
