84 THE CONDOR VoL. XI a chance glance upward revealed a Turkey Vulture drifting slowly across the sky. It almost seemed that once again I was down in the valley prowling about in the willows and brush along the Gould Ditch; yet I knew of half a dozen nests of Sierra Juncos within a few hundred feet of the lake and only a few moments before had been examining several nests of Western Robins in some 'small evergreens near the shore. While standing there in the warm sunshine listening to the characteristic "h'-wak-a-ree" of the blackbirds I was suddenly reminded that the San Joaquin Valley, with its vineyards and canals, was many miles away, for from a clump of small pines nearby burst the harsh scolding notes of a Blue-fronted Jay. A mo- ment or two later the soft but rather melancholy call of a Plumed Quail floated down to me from a pine-clad hillside. Fresno, California. THE MOURNING DOVE (ZENAIDURA CAROLINENS/S) IN CAPTIVITY By E. W. GIFFORD N February 15, 1908, I purchased two of these beautiful doves, said to be eoek and hen respectively.. The smaller of the two, which I took to be the hen, was without a tail when I received her, but soon began growing one. The tail grew very fast, a difference in length being distinguishable daily. The birds were confined to a small stunmet-house, about five feet in diameter, until about the .middle of April. About March 11 they began making their mournful cooing notes. On April 12 I placed these birds in an aviary with a ground area of four hundred square feet. They seemed quite delighted with the change, and immedi- ately went to feeding with several Barbary Turtle Doves in the short grass. About a week later I saw the smaller of the two, which I had thought was a female, in the act of cooing. Then I awakened to the fact that I had two eoek birds. Had I' been more familiar with the species I should not have been deceived by the difference in size. In May and June they cooed incessantly during the day, and often in the mid- dle of the night, especially if it was moonlight. It was also along about this time that the two males were seen fighting in the evenings. Both were in beautiful fresh plumage. On June 16 I purchased two more of these birds, both proving to be females. Inside of three or four days, one of them became very much attaeht to one of the eoek birds, and it was amusing to see the unladylike manner in which she followed him about and shook her wings. Occasionally he would give chase, only stopping to coo when very close, and that very seldom. The two males would at this date pursue each other with great viciousness. By June 24 the two females had mated with the two males. At this time one pair had a nest on top of a box placed in a peach tree; it consisted merely of a few sticks and straws. An egg was laid in it on June 23. The other pair had a nest on a shingle nailed on the beam of a board fence on the west side of the aviary. The males did all the carrying of nesting material in both eases, the fenroles usually sitting on or near the nest. When selecting the nesting site, the male would go to a likely place and squat down, raising the tail and lowering
