May, 1909 THE MOURNING DOVE IN CAPTIVITY 85 the head. He would then give a very short coo, gently shaking the wings mean- while. It seemed to amount to just one note of the many given in the usual call. The females seemed very gentle and loving to their mates. The two males, how- ever, were very savage, carrying on a running fight with each other most of the time, altho sometimes standing their ground. In their blind jealousy they would at times attack the innocent Barbary Turtle Doves. The pair which nested on top of the box in the peach tree were unfortunate, for on June 28 it was found that one egg had rolled'off, and that the other was deserted. At that date it was found that they had started a nest in the lower part of the box which was covered over and had but one side open; no eggs had as yet been laid. Again the male carried all of the sticks and straws for the nest. In the morning the pair nesting on the shingle were found to have one egg; later in the day they had two. On July 12, the pair nesting on the shingle hatcht a young one. By July 14 the second young bird had hatcht. On that date, howev6r, the cock bird died. For a day or two before, I noticed that its excrement was green in color, while the bird stayed on the ground and appeared very inactive. At that date, July 14, I did not know whether the eggs of my other pair had hatcht or not, as the parents sat very close, the female doing most of the incubat- ing and the male relieving her for three or four hours in the middle of the day. On the evening of July 15, I found one of the young of the pair nesting on the shingle dead. It was lying on the roof of ? nearby shed, where it had evidently been carried by the mother, probably becoming attacht to her feathers. On July 16 at least one egg belonging to the pair nesting in the box had hatcht, as I found the shell on the ground. On the 22nd I found a young bird dead in this nest; the other bird was in good condition and growing rapidly. On the evening of July 25, when I approacht the nest on the shingle, the young bird flew away in alarm, striking the wire some twenty feet away. This bird spent either thirteen or eleven days in the nest. The following morning it left the nest without being disturbed and flew to the roof of the shed. On July 28. the young bird of the pair nesting in the box left the nest, having spent only twelve days in the nest. On July 31 the hen having the nest on the shingle laid an egg, which I found broken the next day. She had been trying to steal the remaining cock bird from his mate. He seemed more attacht to her than to his mate. On August 1 the female nesting in the tree laid an egg; this was just four days after her young one had flown. On August 2 the hen nesting on the shingle laid her second egg, which she deserted, however. On August 14 the pair nesting in the box hatcht an egg. The other 1)roved infertile. The young one developed in the usual time, twelve days. This seemed to close the breeding season; the male cooed little if any after this date, and all of his love and fondness for the two females disappeared. For a few days after the young left the nests the females were very zealous in protecting them, attacking each other and any harmless turtle dove which came too close. It was interesting to see how angry the hen nesting in the box became when she found that the widow hen was trying to steal her mate. She gave the widow one or two beatings; this appeared to cure her mate of his infatuation, for he paid no more attention to the widow. They were almost human in their jealousies! This species seems to be one which could be easily domesticated in this coun- try, if a little trouble were taken with it. Alameda, California.
