NESTS AND EGGS OF AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. 56^ 



532. — Ptlloi'ls EwiNGi, Gould. — (452) 

 ROSE-CROWNED FRUIT PIGEON. 



/"«^««.^Gould : Birds of Australia, iul., vol. v., pi. 56. 



Reference. — Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. xxi., p. gb. 



Previous Descriptions of Eggs. — Le Souef : Proc. Roy. Soc, Victoria, 

 vol. vii. new ser. p. .23 (1S95), also Ibis, p. 394 (1897). 



Geugra pineal DUtribution. — Nortliern Territory and North Queeus- 

 laud. 



Stst. — A slightly-biiilt platform, about '2.\ mches in diameter, com- 

 posed of small sticks. 



Eyys. — Clutch, one ; elliptically iuchued, with occasioually one end 

 pecuharly pointed; texture of shell fine, except at the smaller end, 

 wliich is somew^hat granular ; siu-face slightly glossy ; coIoui% pure 

 white. Dimensions in inches : (1) 1'2 x -86, (2j 118 x -85. 



Ohservationis. — This lovely httle Pigeon is a native of the northern 

 coast of Austraha, and differs from the Red-crowned Fruit Pigeon, as 

 Gould points out, in being smaller in all its dimensions, and in the 

 colom- of the crown being rose-pink instead of crimson-red, (fcc. 



Mr. D. Le Souef observed this beautiful Pigeon in the thick scrub 

 on the higher land near the Bloomfield River. He wi'ites : " We were 

 fortunate ia finding two of their nests on the 24th October (1894), 

 one on the banks of the Annan River, in a small tree about eight feet 

 from the ground ; o"ne contained a yomig bird newly hatched, and the 

 hen bird let us approach within three feet of her nest before she flew 

 ofE. The other nest was placed in a somewhat similar situation, and 

 contained one fresh egg." Mr. Le Souef added, that when the bird 

 was flushed it was astonishing how the contents could remain in a nest 

 so fraU and shallow. 



Two seasons afterwards, when Mr. Harry Barnard was collecting 

 for Mr. Le Souef and others, he found the pretty Rose-crowned Fruit 

 Pigeons breeding in the mangroves at Cape York, seldom seeing them 

 elsewhere. One nest was taken in October, one in November, two in 

 December, and one in Januarj-, a-s late as the 2Sth. The nests were 

 placed usually at a height of from four to thirty feet above the water, 

 and were generally found by observing the bird dash of as Mr. Barnard 

 was ploughing through the black mud, up to his knees, and harassed 

 by myriads of sandfhes. 



Breeding season September to February. 



533. — Ptilopus alligator, Collett. 

 BLACK-BANDED FRUIT PIGEON. 



Figure. — Proc. Zool. Soc, pi. 29 (i8g8). 

 Reference. — Proc. Zool. Soc, p. 354 (iSg.S). 



Geographical Distribution. — Northern Territory. 



