THE AKOMATtC VINAGO. 375 



mixed with some of the common food of the pigcou. If we allow eithei" of the parents to 

 feed the young, its crop, when examined, will bo discovered to contain the same curdled 

 substance, which passes thence into the stomach, where it is to be digested. 



" The young pigeon is fed for some time with this substance alone, and about the third 

 day, some of the common food is found mingled with it ; and as the pigeon grows older, 

 the proportion of common food is increased ; so that by the time it is seven, eight, or 

 nine da3-s old, the secretion of the curd ceases in the old ones. It is a curious fact, that 

 the parent j)igeon has at first the power to throw up this curd without any mixture of 

 common food, although afterwards both are thrown up according to the proportion 

 required for the J'ouug ones. I have caUcd this substance curd, not as being literally so^ 

 but as resembling that more than anything I know. It may, however, have a greater 

 resemblance to curd than we are, perhaps, aware of ; for neither this secretion, nor curd 

 from which the whey has been pressed, seem to contain any sugar, and do not run into 

 the acetous fermentation. The property of coagulating is confined to the substance itself, 

 as it produces no such efiect when mixed with milk." 



As to the varied members of this interesting family, Mr. Swainson remarks : " The 

 extensive genus of Columha, like that of Fako, has been pronounced indivisible by an 

 eminent ornithologist of the present day ; who, from having made these birds his peculiar 

 study, is, in one sense, pre-eminentlj- qualified to give a decided opinion. The principle 

 he has laid down, and consequently that on which' this opinion is founded, is, that 

 whenever intermediate species are discovered, which serve to unite two neighboiu-ing 

 genera, such genera should invariaMy be imited." After stating that this theory has 

 been i-efuted, Mr. Swainson continues : " It is admitted that there are certain peculiarities 

 of form and of economy among the Columhidfe, wliich point out natural divisions. Some 

 of these have been used for the construction of genera by MM. le VaiUarit, Vieillot, 

 and Cuvier, and of sections by M. Temminck ; but the immense number of species 

 already known, and the great influx of new ones, render it expedient that others should 

 be formed. As we labour under a comparative ignorance of the natural economy of the 

 vast number of tropical species, any attempt to throw the Columbidaj into theii- natural 

 arrangement must be very imperfect. The basis of such a work must rest on their 

 natural habits, their food, and their geographical distribution. Yet, as we see in other 

 natural families, that a peculiarity of economy is almost invariably accompanied by some 

 corresponding modification of structure, we shall receive considerable assistance by 

 accuratel}' examining such varieties. We may note the forms, without being acquainted 

 with their reference to the pecidiar habits of the group ; and though our inference in 

 some cases may be erroneous, in others we shall not be far from the truth." 



Agreeing fully with these observations, we shall add descriptions of some other remark- 

 able members of this fiimily to those already given. 



THE AROMATIC VINAGO.* 



This bird maj' be taken as a specimen of the genus Vinago. They are of a mild and 

 timorous disposition, and are generally seen in flocks and societies, except dm-iiig the 

 period of reproduction, when they pair and retire to the recesses of the forest. The nest 

 is simple, and composed of a few twigs loosely put. together, and the eggs are two. The 

 base or softer part of the bill is a blackish- gray, the tip j'cllowish-white, strong, much 

 hooked, and bulging on the side. The forehead is a bright siskin-green, the crown 

 greenish- gray, the chin and throat gamboge-yellow, the remainder of the neck, the 

 breast, belly, lower back and rump, yellowish-green. The upper back or mantle, and a 

 part of the lesser wing-coverts, are of a rich brownish red, and exhibit a purplish tinge in 



* Columba Aromatica. — Lath. 



