The TURTLE DOVE (_Turtur auritus_) possesses a slender body, straight
beak, slightly compressed at the tips of both mandibles, long, weak-toed
feet, long wings, in which the second and third quills exceed the rest in
length, and a very decidedly rounded, long tail. The feathers on the back
are brownish grey, edged with brown and spotted with black and grey in the
centre; the top of the head and nape are light greyish blue, the sides of
the throat adorned with four black streaks, bordered with silvery white;
the throat, region of the crop, and upper breast are deep red, the rest
of the under side is purplish grey, shading gradually into greyish white;
the primary quills are blackish grey, the secondaries greyish blue, the
shoulder-feathers of a blackish hue, broadly edged with rust-red. The eye
is brownish yellow, the eye-ring blueish red, the beak black, and the foot
carmine-red. This species is eleven inches long and nineteen and a half
broad; the wing measures six and a half and the tail five inches.
The Turtle Dove is spread over the whole continent of Europe, even very
far northward, but is not found within the Arctic Circle. In the autumn it
visits the shores of the Mediterranean, going still farther southward as
the season advances. It feeds on grain and vegetables, frequenting fields
of corn and peas. The note is a soft and mournful "coo," often uttered
when the bird is on the ground. The Turtle Dove is merely a summer visitor
to the British Islands, arriving in April or May. It is more numerous in
the southern and midland than in the northern counties, but it has been
seen both in Scotland and Ireland. It frequents woods and fir plantations,
and also thick hedges of ploughed fields.
The nest of this species is placed in the forked branch of an oak, in a
fir-tree, or near the top of a tall thick bush. Both parents sit by turns,
the male sometimes feeding his mate, and both combining to procure food
for their young. In England, only one brood is produced during the year.
In the autumn, the Turtle Doves fly in parties of ten or twelve, departing
at the close of the fine season to winter in Africa.
Jerdon tells us that among the Indian species the Ashy Turtle Dove most
resembles that of Great Britain.
* * * * *
The INDIAN RING-DOVES (_Streptopelcia_) have a shorter and less abruptly
rounded tail than that possessed by the members of the above group; the
line around the neck completely encircles it, and the general coloration
of the plumage is of a lighter shade. They are all remarkably beautiful
birds.