it greedily feeds, -whence its name of “Olive Dove.” It breeds upon
trees in mountain ravines, and, we have been informed, lays four eggs,
only two of which come to perfection. Two eggs which we have had
given us as the eggs of this species, are of the usual white colour
and shape: axis, 1" ; diameter, 14"/. The nest is a loose
structure of sticks. Mr. Atmore writes, under date 13th May, 1864,
from near Blanco :—“ The large yellow-billed and yellow-legged
Bush Dove is breeding here now, high on the mountain. They
make their nests on the tops of the tree-ferns. I am trying to get
some young ones for you.” The colonists call this bird Olive Dove,
or Bush Dove. Mr. Rickard tells us that it is common near East
London, and, according to Captain Trevelyan’s notes, it is plentiful
in the Peri Bush, near Kingwilliamstown, and is very fond of the
wild plum tree. In Natal, Mr. Ayres says that “ they come by
thousands in the month of June, leaving again in August; they
keep to the bush along the coast, only a few stragglers being found
a few miles inland; they feed entirely on the berries which abound
on the trees in the bush during the winter months. I have never
seen them alight on the ground; they are shot here by hundreds,
and afford our Durban sportsmen capital sport.”
He also writes:—“ I found this pigeon scattered rather sparsely
amongst the Megaliesbergen, during the winter months; and,
according to my brother, it is not much more plentiful in
summer; they are generally solitary birds; but once I saw about
twenty together.” Mr. Andersson did not meet with the species in
Damara Land, nor has Senor Anchieta procured it in a wild state
in any part of South-Western Africa. Mr. Monteiro forwarded a
living specimen in 1864 from Benguela, and Professor Barboza du
Bocage states that he has also received two live birds from Angola,
but as he very properly remarks, this does not prove that the
species occurs in South-Western Africa, although specimens in the
Lisbon Museum are labelled as coming from Galungo-alto.
General colour above, dark ashy, inclining to reddish on the back
and shoulders, light on the edge of. the wing, and very dark on
the tail, over which there is a decided greenish tinge; wings, at the
shoulders spotted with white; forehead vinaceous, passing into
light ash-colour on the back of the head; chin, neck, and breast,
obscure vinaceous, mottled with black; belly and flanks, a mixture
of vinaceous and cinereous, with a profusion of crescent-shaped
markings; a bare place round the eye; bill and legs bright yellow.
Length, 13"; wing, 8" 9'"; tail, 5£".
Fig. Le Vaill. Ois. d’Afr. vi, pi. 265.
546. T urtur^ na d e l e g o r g u i i , Deleg. Delegorgue’s Pigeon.
The smaller size and white or pale terminal bar on the under
surface of. the tail are some of the characters which distinguish
Turturcena from Palumbus, the proportions of the primaries and the
short tarsi being the same in both genera.
The present species will always remain a curiosity among
ornithologists as being one of the few instances in which a
naturalist- has named a bird after himself. It is an extremely
rare bird in collections, and is only known from Natal. One
specimen was shot in 1863 by Mr. T. Ayres in November, being the
only one he had seen up to that time. “ The stomach contained
the frothy larvae of a small species of CJicada, which is found
plentifully in Natal on the tops of trees.” Captain Shelley has
received a female from Mr. T. L. Ayres, who writes:—“ This is
the only specimen I have shot. It was feeding upon mulberries in
a garden on the Berea. My cousin shot two a few days before at
the same place in October.” Delegorgue himself appears to have
procured but two specimens, and the British Museum contains only
a single example, the type of G. lunigera of Gray.
There is a curious difference in the sexes, the male having a broad
white collar at the junction of the hind neck and mantle, which
is absent in the female. The following descriptions are copied
from Captain Shelley’s paper.
Adult male.—Head and neck deep slate colour, only very slightly
paler towards the forehead and chin; back of the head and back,
and sides of the neck very strongly glossed with metallic amethyst
lilac, with reflexions of green in certain lights; this same gloss
extends on to the front of the neck, from the middle throat on to
the upper chest, but is far less intense, only being visible in certain
lights, and disappears altogether on the lower chest; the back
of the neck is separated from the mantle by a broad white collar
extending from shoulder to shoulder; remainder of the upper parts
slaty black, shading into chestnut on the upper back, wing-coverts
and portion of the inner secondaries; the edges of the feathers
of the upper back are faintly glossed towards their edges with