186 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XII. 



field-c^kss is very great. Yen do not often get a good view of the beak 

 with glasses, except in the case of such large birds us the herons. If 

 you can see the bird he can see you, and probably looks straight at you. 



The probable confusion of the " Nilgii-i Impei-ial Pigeon " with the 

 two true " Imperial Pigeons" mentioned has brought him into notice 

 somewhat before his turn and in advance of the " very ill-defined " sub- 

 foniily of Phabince. Of these we have the " Bronze-winged" cr Emerald 

 Dove, which in Mr. Blanford's phrase occurs in " forests near the Malabar 

 Coast to the neighbourhood of Bombay." I should not be surpri.*ed to 

 hear of it almost to the Tapti. It is certainly confused by natives of the 

 cultivated lands, and by some Eurf>peans, with Osmotreron affinis. Both 

 have red legs, and they are to be seen in each other's neighbourhood. 

 But the Bronze-wing, as might be expected, is of a rather dark metal- 

 lic-green, a rather solitary bird io its ways ; and a frequenter of the 

 ground and of rather low vegetation, especially bamboo jungles and 

 even gardens. The other bird's tints are soft and leafy. It is seldom 

 seen alone, seldom, if ever, on the ground or on small trees or bamboos, 

 and it whistles, while the Bronze- wing coos. Neither is often shot — and 

 so much the better — so these hints may come in useful for identifying 

 the living wild birds. 



We have two " Blue Socks"— 



(fl) the European C. livia in Sind, only distinguished by having 

 a-ather a white " back-band " than a white " coat-tail " as in 

 Europe ; 

 (b) the Indian Blue Rock, whose coat-tails are grey j all over the 

 Province and Peninsula. 



A small stock-dove, C. eversmanni, visits Smd in winter. Our 

 turtle-doves are so familiar as hardly to reqnii-e notice here. 



If any reader has seen any of the pigeons or doves eating winged 

 white-ants or locusis, a note would be of interest. At present there 

 seems to be little evidence of their using any animal-food at all ; but 

 few birds can withstand those temptations. 



( To he continued.^ 



