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 Mar.,1911 I)0VES ON THE PIMA RESERVATION 53 birds, has a good res*: of his skill, as they fly very rapidly with' seemingly little effort, and the rate of speed is hard to estimate. They will carry off a large load of shot too, and all things considered are a fine game bird. As soon as the young are grown both they and the parents congregate in large flocks and fly from feed- ing ground to watering place, thus affording a good chance at wing shooting. One evening in twenty minutes I counted over 700 fly past a bridge over a small irrigat- ing canal. In addition to the wheat, these doves feed on other grains and much weed seed. They are very fond of sorghum seed, and large flocks gather ou a field of this plant. The giant cactus ( ('ereus gt'ganteus) furnishes them a large amount of food also. They may be seen on 'top of the great columns as soon as the first blos- soms appear, thrusting their bills into the trumpet-shaped flowers, but whether for insects, pollen, or nectar was not learned. As soon' as the fruit ripens, however, there is no doubt as to what they are seeking. Their actions are a sufficient index even without the tell-tale red stain around their mouths. They frequent the cactus groves as long as any fruit is left, flying a long distance to reach this delicacy. Besides the danger from gunner, the Cooper Hawk is a menace, feeding often on the fat pigeon. I have seen a Marsh Hawk after a White-wing with a broken wing but do not tlxink any but wounded birds are ever attacked by this species. Along in August the big flocks begin to grow less, the birds probably scatter- ing out and seeking feeding grounds more distant from the breedling grounds. Toward the first of September they begin to thin out in earnest and by the 15th of the month very few are seen. Individuals may linger a little longer, as in 1909 I saw one as late as October 12, and in 1910 the last seen was on September 25. A few lingered on a sorghum field up till September 10 of this year but were not seen any later. In April, soon after the birds arrive, I have shot some that looked likey oung or immature birds. Possibly some individuals may raise a brood before leaving their winter home or these may have been very late hatched squabs of the previous sum- mer. I am inclined to think they were hatched earlier in the season in their south- ern resort before the northern movement began, as there always seems to be a lot of doves sitting around or flying in small squads who seem to have no family cares. These may be the parents who have already performed their duty. Nesting begins soon after arrival in the spring and as only a slight platlorn; is built for a nest, not much time is lost in construction. The nest is practically the same as that of the Mourning Dove though perhaps a little larger, as the White- wing is some larger. They nest in a sort of scattered colony, and frequently two and three nests are seen in a large mesquite tree. In some favored groves about every third big tree has one or more nests. Much of the nesting is done in May and June, and in July they are congregated in large flocks. The earliest date I have recorded for eggs was May 10, and at that time a great many new nests were seen. In 1908 and 1909 most of the nesting seemed to be done in May and June, but in 1910 the season reached well into July, as in that month I found twenty-one nests containing eggs or young birds. Possibly nests may have been found in July of the other seasons had I been as assiduous in searching for them. I kept on the lookout during all three years but was particularly on the alert last July, as the previous August I had found a nest with eggs on the 2rid of that month, and I wished to specialize on the late nesting. This August nest contained eggs nearly hatched, and the bird brooding them looked like an immature one, a bird of the year, which possibly was the case. Nests are always, as far as my observation goes, placed in trees or shrubs at