J.&outd/SsEGBichter, dtbcü fflu
TTOtTim ATJBITFS, Smr.
Wcüter,Imp.
AU RITUS, Ray
auritus, Ray. Syn. Moth A*.
ta turtur, Linn. Syst. Nat., tai
ra turtur, Boie, Isis, 182#. ji.
vulgaris, Eyt. Hist. Rarer ilr
The Turtledove, at once the smallest »fed « w 1 < fV ¡British Columbida, is not a
permanent resident with us, but strictly a umrm t- ¿fw **£»*> ^ rtia lity for certaiu parts of
our island to the exclusion of o th ers ; 1km n m Mt*v m&mk* and central portions of
England than it is in those further north. lAbere*»-» <• .< • ;• n-:kid' with pleasure as an
indication that summer is coining; for it m- Bttt- «***1 to r v*#*#*.’# - b u s ie d their fury, the
showers o f April passed away, and May soiAcwKat wdWMMfltg -
shrubberies, o r that its slight flat nest among ¡..fee hrwadheis »** ¡%-« '-¿fe ogg».. can be detected.
From Africa direct, with but little delay on f.he road, b*% »tw ffwpfe
summer visitants. Of late years it appears to have iacviNt&ed i*> m„ '**«$ to have extended
its range in a northerly direction ; for within my own recollection >t «*<&$ in
of England and Scotland, but now, like the MisseUThrush and the '« there much more
frequently than heretofore. Its stay with us not extending to the W of autumn, little
mischief can be attributed to this docile and pretty bird, and therefore a •' (*w be put upon its
bead (as in the case of the Wood-Pigeon), its principal food consisting « f - d «Ac vetch and wild
plants, the tender shoots of herbs, and small-shelled snails.
■‘ The Turtledove has the discredit,’’ says the Rev. C. A. Johns, “ ot rewwt*wg ■**
for the sake of feeding on the milky grain. I am doubtful i( t-hi&clutrge £9R t»v
walking through a cornfield, one may see two or three 'I urtiednvo w r. •'
a rustle and low cry of alarm, rapidly dart away in the direction or the m
shade, all but the white segment d i a circle formed by the tip» of
spot from which they rose, I have been uuabie to detect any ears « e o n nlletl <m we» «ea/te ■
ground was thickly matted with weeds, which might have furnished them.frills to«»
by a young friend, who has often shot them while rising from such situations., that he has invar*»*
tbeir crops distended with the green seed-vessels o f a weed common in corn-fields the e®*»
(Spergula arvensis). This befog the case, the Turtledove is more a friend than an .enemy to the fartM*.
even if it sometimes regales on ripe grain’W interferes with the occupation of the gleaner.
How much would tire delights o f summer be detracted^from were we not visited* bv nearly forty
spring migrants! Without the Swallow and its kindred, t f t '^ l t r y heat would be uubearaBVe, from the
inordinate increase of. tormenting insects. T h i croak of the frog and the crake o f the Landrail assist at
this time in breaking the monotonous stillness o f n ig h t; and the cooings of the Dove relieve the mind by
calling up soothing and pleasing thoughts not easily described.
When the Turtle comes to ns, in spring,'; it generally arrives in pairs ; in the autumn, on the other hand,
the various broods-assemble in our corn-fields and arable lands in considerable flocks, and in the month
September migrate in a southerly direction, through Portugal and Spain, to Morocco, where, ii
probability, these, as well as many other birds th at visit us in summer, pass the winter; while tfeafte which
have summered in the eastern parts o f the European continent proceed to Algeria, via the Main
of islands, where, for a few days in spring and again in autumn, the Turtle is especially numerous, and
large numbers are captured at the former season in uets, precisely after the manner employed by the bird-
catchers in this country. “ -As an illustration of the great power of flight o f these birds,” say* Mr. Wright,
“ it may be mentioned th at thousands of them are annually to be seen passing over Malta without alighting.
When they reappear in September they are on their way from Europe, and are not generally so plentiful as
in spring. At this time they consist chiefly o f birds o f the year, which want the collar of the adult, and are
altogether o f a duller hue.”
Mr. Yarrell mentions th at he could find no notice o f the Turtledove visiting any part of Scandinavia:
but Magnus von Wright includes it in bis ■ B irds of Finland and the late Mr. Wheelwright remark»
'• S trange to say, a pair of Turtledoves were shot a t Quickiock a few years since, on the ground in front of the
priest’s bouse.” Still its occurrence in that part of the European continent must be regarded as cxceptnm
from its central regions, however, to the shores o f the Mediterranean it is more or less abundant in m » t i •