Vol *i 92 (P V ] GOGKRLEY, Breeding of Top-Knot Pigeon 277 
the egg was smaller than is usually the case. On inspection the 
nest was found to be too much shadowed to make a satisfactoiy 
picture. 
Another nest was found 40 feet from the ground in a lilli-pilli 
tree. Egg-shell was found beneath the tree, and the nest was 
consequently expected to contain a young bird. We were sur¬ 
prised, therefore, to find that the nest contained an egg. Appar¬ 
ently the birds had laid a second egg after the first young bird 
had been reared or possibly some other pair of birds had taken 
possession of the nest. This nest was also a bulky structure, 
and its appearance may be judged by reference to the photo¬ 
graph (see Plate 49). 
A little later I noticed an egg-shell beneath a large forest oak. 
Investigation revealed the tail of a Wonga Pigeon (Teucosarcia 
inelanoleuca) projecting from a bunch of oak leaves and twigs. 
We concluded that the nest contained a young Wonga, and that 
the shell on the ground was the remains of the egg from which 
it had hatched. However, my son climbed up with the aid of 
a rope, and found that the nest contained two eggs of the Wonga 
Pigeon. I then examined the egg-shell on the ground more 
closely, and found that it had been part of a Top-knot’s egg. The 
Wonga’s eggs were much incubated, and it was apparent that the 
bird had taken possession of a Top-knot’s nest after the young 
Top-knot had left. 
The Wonga sat very closely, and had to be driven away before 
the eggs could be seen. The nest was in such a position that it 
was impossible to obtain a picture. I have no previous record 
of the Wonga Pigeon breeding in June; the usual breeding season 
extending from October to January. 
Another nest of the Top-knot was discovered low down in a 
parasitic fig tree. This nest contained an egg almost double the 
size of that in the brush box nest. Probably the small egg was 
laid by a young bird. 
Most observers have recorded the Top-knot as building a frail 
platform of twigs in an extremely high tree. My experience has 
been different. In many cases, I have been able to see into the 
nests by standing in the saddle when on horse-back. Over 
ninety per cent, of the nests observed during the last three months 
have been built between eight and forty feet from the ground. 
Almost all the nests I have seen have been bulky, a fact which is 
demonstrated by the photographs obtained. 
The Pigeons are fairly trustful while nesting, and are difficult 
to flush. By the exercise of a little patience we would have been 
able to photograph the adult birds at the nest had it not been 
that the weather made this impossible. The birds feed from 
sunrise until about 11 a.m., and from about 2 p.m. till an hour 
before sunset. 
The Top-knot Pigeon makes a peculiar note, or rather noise, 
between a snort and a sniff. While in the nest the young utter 
a whining reedy call. 
