258 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



to be the glory of the Fijian forests. It breeds in November and December, making 

 a rude platform of small twigs for a nest, about ten feet from the ground, and lays 

 two pure white eggs. It feeds on many kinds of berries and fruits. 



One might go on indefinitely making selections from these lovely birds, but our 

 limits forbid. It only remains to notice the bird which leads, through a chain of 

 other species of Ptilopus that have not been mentioned, towards the genus Carpo- 

 phaga. This species is C. magniftcus, from Australia. It has two races representing 

 it in certain of the Papuan Islands, and also in Australia at Cape York and Rocking- 

 ham Bay. These differ from the species named mainly in size, the color of the 

 plumage not being appreciably different. It has the head and neck greenish-gray, 

 becoming light green on side of breast; the centre of throat and neck, breast and 



^J ^ ^J ' 7 



abdomen, deep purple ; the lower part of abdomen orange-yellow ; under tail-coverts 

 yellowish-green ; wings, back, and tail green, and a yellow bar across the wing. The 

 total length varies from thirteen to nineteen inches. This fine bird dwells in the 

 brush in various portions of Australia, is very shy and retired in its habits. It feeds 

 upon the wild fig and the fruit of the palms, and possesses a loud, hoarse, monotonous 

 note (frequently uttered by the male in the breeding-season), which is entirely unlike 

 that of any other bird. The sexes resemble each other in plumage. 



Another Australian genus is Lopholaimus, having but a single species, L. antarc- 

 ticus. This is a very fine, large bird, remarkable for the thick double crest with 

 which its head is adorned. In its habits it is strictly arboreal and gregarious, going 

 in flocks of many hundred individuals, and descending upon the trees which bear its 

 favorite fruit in such multitudes as often to break the branches by their weight. Its 

 flesh is rather coarse and dry. 



The last genus which calls for notice is Carpophaga, containing thirty or forty 

 species of large size, some of which are among the finest of this family, having many 

 rich and metallic colors on the upper part of their plumage. The feathers of the 

 forehead advance on the soft portion of the bill, and the tarsus is short, and the feet 

 broad, enabling them to grasp firmly the branches. Some species, separated by certain 

 authors as Globicera, have a fleshy knob on the base of the bill, which is most largely 

 developed during the breeding season in the male sex. Their distribution is very 

 similar to that of the members of Ptityws, being found on many of the islands of the 

 various eastern archipelagoes. A very large species with a powerful bill, from the 

 Marquesas, was described as Serresius yaleatus. A group characterized by a black 

 and white plumage have been united by some writers under the term Myristicivora, 

 but with the exception of having a rather short tail, they differ from other members 

 of Carpopliaga mainly in the coloring of their plumage, hardly a generic quality. 

 Others again have been distinguished by the various terms of Phcenorhina, Ducula, 

 Zoncenas, etc., but these, like the various divisions of the other genera already no- 

 ticed, can at most only be considered as indicating sub-generic sections of Carpophaga, 

 useful, possibly, in grouping the species together, but not possessing characters of 

 sufficient importance to cause them to stand apart by themselves. 



A fine Indian species is C. syloatica, with the head, neck, and under parts pearl- 

 gray, tinged on the crown with vinaceous, the entire upper parts and tail shining cop- 

 pery green ; under tail-coverts deep chestnut ; chin and orbital feathers white ; bill 

 red at base, bluish white at tip, irides and bare skin around the eyes crimson ; legs 

 lake-red. It is about nineteen inches in length. This fine bird is found in forests at 

 low elevations, associates in small parties in search of fruits, and visits the salt swamps 



