melting accents, which we might suppose inspired by Nature's self, and which she has taught the ground-dove to employ in conveying the expression of his love to his mate, who is listening to them with delight."

Ground-doves find their food chiefly on the ground, and have their flying feathers less developed than the other kinds of pigeon. They flit from place to place, but always alight at short distances. There are numerous species of these birds. The American ground-dove is abundant in the southern States of America, and in the West India islands, where the French planters call it the ortolan. It feeds on rice, seeds, and berries, and is oftener met with in open fields and plantations than in forests. It is a slender and delicate bird, little capable of enduring severe weather, from which it retreats southwards, as soon as winter sets in. This ground-dove is little more than six inches long; the breast, throat, and sides of the neck are of a pale wine-coloured purple; the crown and back of the head are of a rich pale blue, mixed with purple. The wing feathers are dusky on the outsides, but of a rich red chestnut beneath, the tail is brown and black, tipped with white. This beautiful bird is sometimes kept in cages in the West Indies, where its plaintive note is much esteemed.

The copper-coloured ground-dove is another species inhabiting the same countries, but feeding on elevated and rocky mountains. It runs along the ground in the manner of a partridge, and is known in Jamaica as "the mountain-partridge ;" but it

always perches on a bush, or low branch of a tree when it reposes. It forms its nest upon the ground, in some sheltered spot, and lays two eggs. The whole of the upper plumage of this bird, including that of the head and neck, is bright orange, glossed with rich purple, which gives it the coppery appearance denoted by its name. Another beautiful dove of the West India islands is the blue-headed grounddove. The general plumage is deep brown, with a shade of purple, and the head is of a rich azure blue. There are many other ground-doves, having rich and beautiful plumage, as well as a plaintive cry.

Another species of dove equally celebrated with the ground-dove for the melancholy and affecting sound of its notes, and also esteemed on account of the delicate flavour of its flesh, is the Carolina turtle, a North American bird, which wanders as far as Canada in summer, but appears to make the Carolinas its principal winter quarters. Wilson says, that those who wander in the American woods in the spring, will there hear many a singular and sprightly performer, but none so mournful as the Carolina turtle. "The hopeless woe of settled sorrow, swelling the heart of female innocence itself, could not assume tones more sad, more tender, or affecting. Its notes are four; the first is somewhat the highest and preparatory, seeming to be uttered with an inspiration of the breath, as if the afflicted creature were just recovering its voice from the last convulsive sobs of distress; this is followed by three long, deep, and mournful moanings, that

no person of sensibility can listen to without sympathy; a pause of a few minutes ensues, and again the solemn voice of sorrow is renewed as before. This is usually heard in the deepest parts of the woods, frequently about noon and towards evening." With music so exquisitely sad, it must be difficult to realize the fact, that the bird is giving utterance to feelings of delight, and is cheering his mate as she sits on her nest.

As soon as frost sets in, these birds begin their migration to the south, and in winter the woods of Carolina and Georgia swarm with them, so that the rustling of their wings is heard in all quarters. It is at this time that they become an easy prey to the fowler, and are in the best condition for his purpose. They move northward in March, or early in April, but not in large flocks. On the contrary, they are commonly much scattered, flying in pairs, alighting in farm-yards, and mixing familiarly with common poultry, especially at feeding time. Their flight is swift and vigorous, and always accompanied with a whistling of the wings, by which they are easily known from the carrier-pigeon. They alight on trees, fences, or on the ground, and are exceedingly fond of buck-wheat, hemp-seed, and Indian corn. They devour large quantities of gravel, and frequently visit gardens for the sake of the peas, of which they are particularly greedy. These birds are very beautiful in their plumage. The crown,

upper part of the neck, and wings, are of a fine silky slate-blue; the back is ashy-brown, the sides of the neck and breast pale orange-brown: under the ear

feathers is a spot or drop of deep black, immediately below which the plumage reflects the most vivid tints of green, gold, and crimson. The legs and feet are coral-red, seamed with white. The eyes are of a glossy blackness, surrounded with a pale greenish blue skin.

In Southern Africa there is a very curious and beautiful little pigeon, scarcely weighing more than a common sparrow. It is called the Cape turtle, and is very generally distributed over Africa, south of the desert, and even down to the valley of the Nile, as far as Nubia. This little bird is only seven inches long, and more than the half of that is occupied by the tail. The plumage of the head, sides of the neck and smaller coverts of the wings, are pale French grey passing into a brown-grey on the back. A remarkable patch of deep black passes over the forehead, the sides of the head as far as the eyes, the chin, throat, and foresides of the neck and breast, where it is prettily rounded off. Black or purplish spots and bands also ornament the wings and tail, and exhibit metallic reflections. Very little is known of the habits of this beautiful bird, farther than that it follows the general law of the other turtles by nestling in trees, and seeking its food upon the ground. The eggs are two in number, white and nearly transparent, and so delicate that they can scarcely be touched without being broken.

People are apt to suppose that the eggs of birds are all very much alike; so much so, that when a striking resemblance between two different objects is desired, it is commonly said that they are as much

alike as two eggs. Now the fact is, that the wonderful variety which is every where found among the productions of nature is also observed among the eggs of birds. Mr. Hewitson, in his beautiful work

EGG OF THE RING-DOVE.

on the Eggs of British Birds, has given accurately coloured engravings of several hundred eggs, and it is impossible to examine them without being struck with the remarkable variety in the colour, size, and even form of eggs. As an example of their great difference in colour and form, we give the figures of the eggs of the Ring Dove, the Turtle Dove, and the Ringed Plover, which is also called the Ring Dotterel or Sand Lark. "This bird," says Mr. Hewitson, "breeds in most parts of our sea-coast, being most frequent near the mouths of rivers and smaller streams: it makes no nest, but lays its four conical eggs in a slight hole on the surface of the ground, either amongst small gravel or upon the little hillocks of sand which occur so commonly on our flat beach. In some I have seen the eggs present a very beautiful appearance upon the clean