_Columba zenaida_, BONAP. J. A. N. Sc. V, 1825, 30.—IB. Am. Orn.
II, 1828, pl. xv.—WAGLER, Isis, 1829, 744.—NUTTALL, Man. I, 1832,
625.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 354; V, 558, pl. clxii.—IB. Birds Am.
V, 1842, 1, pl. cclxxxi. _Zenaida amabilis_, BON. List, 1838.—IB.
Consp. II, 1854, 82.—GOSSE, Birds Jam. 1847, 307.—REICHENBACH, Icones
Av. “tab. 255.”—GUNDLACH, Cabanis’s Journ. 1856, 111.—BAIRD, Birds N.
Am. 1858, 602.—REICH. Handb. Taub. 21, tab. 255, f. 2867, 2868; 254,
f. 1412.—MARCH, P. A. N. S. 1863, 352. _Zenaida aurita_, GRAY, not
_Columba aurita_ of Lichtenstein (_Z. maculata_), nor of Temminck (_Z.
martinicana_), fide Bonaparte.
SP. CHAR. Wings very long, reaching to the terminal third of the tail.
Above reddish-olive, variously glossed with gray; the top of the head
and the under parts violet-purplish red, paler on the chin and throat.
Inside of wings, and sides of body, blue; greater wing-coverts tinged
with the same. Quills dark brown; the secondaries tipped with white.
Inner tail-feathers like the back; the others blue above; all with a
subterminal bar of black, beyond which the blue is lighter, assuming a
whitish tint on the exterior feathers. Wing-coverts with concealed spots
of black, which are more visible on the tertials; a spot of the same
below the ear. Bill black. Feet yellowish. Length, 10.00; wing, 6.00;
tail, 4.00.
[Illustration: =94= ♂ ½ ½
_Zenaida amabilis._]
HAB. Florida Keys. Chiefly on or near Indian Key and the West Indies.
Santa Cruz (NEWTON, Ibis, I, 253, eggs); Cuba (CAB. J. IV, III; GUNDL.
Rep. I, 1866, 301); Bahamas (BRYANT, Pr. B. VII, 1859); Jamaica (GOSSE,
B. J. 317); Sombrero (LAWR. VIII, 99); Porto Rico (BRYANT, B. P. 1866).
Among many specimens of this species before us is one from Mr. Audubon’s
collection, probably procured in Florida. It must be much rarer now than
formerly on the keys, as several collections of birds made on Indian Key
do not include any specimens.
The _Z. hypoleuca_, Gray,[106] of South America, is very similar, but
lacks any trace of the broad white bar at the end of the secondaries.
There is more white on the tail, the feathers of which are narrower at
the ends; besides, the colors generally are lighter, the crissum being
creamy-white.
HABITS. The Zenaida Dove was found by Mr. Audubon to be a transient
visitor of the keys of East Florida, where, according to his
observations, they made their first appearance among the islands around
Indian Key about the 15th of April. There they continued to increase
in numbers until October, when they all returned to the West India
Islands, whence they came, and where they are most numerous. The males
were observed to reach the keys in which they passed the summer to breed
before the females, and were heard cooing, as if in search of their
mates, at least a week before the arrival of the latter. They begin
to lay their eggs about the first of May. When they leave, in their
autumnal migrations, they depart in small groups by families.
These birds are said by Mr. Audubon to be Ground Doves in habit. Their
flight resembles that of the so-called Ground Dove, and is seldom higher
than the tops of the mangroves, and never to any considerable distance
except during their migrations. Though they alight on trees with ease,
and can walk well among their branches, they spend the greater portion
of their time on the ground, and walk well there, walking or running in
search of food with lightness and celerity, and invariably roost on the
ground.
Their flight is similar to that of the Carolina Dove in the firm
movements of the wings, though they do not produce the same whistling
sounds. In flying over the water they keep near its surface; and when
started from the ground they only fly to a short distance, and realight
in the grass or a thicket. They are extremely gentle, so much so that
Mr. Audubon has occasionally approached so near as to almost touch them
with his gun as they stood gazing at him, apparently devoid of all fear.
They breed in the few keys that are covered with grass and low shrubs.
They always place their nest on the ground, often with so little
concealment that it may be easily discovered by any one searching for
it. Occasionally it is placed between tufts of grass, the tops of which
bend over and conceal it. A small hole is scooped in the sand in which
a slight nest, composed of matted blades of dry grasses, is placed,
circular in form, and embedded in an outer collection of dry leaves and
twigs. The whole fabric is said to be more compact than the nest of any
other Pigeon. The eggs, always two, are described as pure white and
translucent.
When sitting on her eggs or on her young, the female rarely moved from
them except when an attempt was made to catch her, which she always
evaded with great dexterity, gliding with great quickness to a short
distance, and watching the movements of the intruder with drooping wings
and an air of deep sorrow, her whole frame trembling as if with intense
cold.
Mr. Audubon took alive two of the young birds, which he fed from his
mouth with Indian-corn meal. This they ate with avidity, until placed
under the care of a common tame Pigeon, that at once fostered them. They
lived, and were taken to Dr. Bachman in Charleston.
Their notes are said to closely resemble the cooing of the Carolina
Dove, but are somewhat more soft and tender. During midday, when the
heat in the central parts of the keys is intense, these birds are
silent.
Their flesh was found to be excellent, and they were generally very
fat. They fed on grass seeds, on the leaves of certain aromatic plants,
and on various kinds of berries,—among others, one highly poisonous to
man,—and mingle with their food particles of shells and gravel. They
have two broods in a season.
According to Mr. Audubon, their eggs measure 1.25 inches in length by
.87 of an inch in breadth, and are abruptly pointed at one end. He
states that they propagated readily in the aviary of the Earl of Derby,
some being let loose in the hope of introducing them into England.
This species, known in Jamaica as the Pea Dove, is not, according to
March, gregarious, and, although terrestrial in habits, is often seen
and heard on trees, and also roosts there. It nests indiscriminately on
the ground or in trees, making a slight platform of sticks and twigs,
loosely put together. The eggs are two, oval or roundish-oval in shape,
and white. They measure from 1.20 to 1.32 inches in length by an inch in
breadth. It is a favorite cage-bird, and though apparently very timid
and restless, becomes very tame and docile, and will take grain from the
hand or lips of its feeder.
In Santa Cruz it is known as the Mountain Dove, and was there found
very common by Mr. Newton. It afforded excellent sport and was very
good eating. It was not only numerous on the hills, but was likewise
plentiful in all parts of the island sufficiently overgrown with brush.
Mr. Newton did not find it so terrestrial in its habits as it is stated
to be by some writers. Its flight is said to be remarkably rapid. It
breeds from April to the end of July, and is said to build the ordinary
Pigeon’s nest,—a mere platform of twigs in a bush or tree at any height
from a few feet to twenty. It lays two eggs, which, in Santa Cruz, were
found by Mr. Newton to be perfectly white, and not of a drab hue, as
stated by Mr. Gosse. The young birds are often taken from the nest and
brought up without much difficulty. The cooing of this Dove is stated to
much resemble the noise made by sounding a conch-shell.
The eggs of the Zenaida Dove are more rounded in their shape than those
of most of our Pigeons, are white, equally obtuse at each end, and
measure 1.30 inches in length by .90 in breadth.