100 THK.RdNin*. 



I'rom ISinibi, l>uarinKa, <_)ueenslaiid, Mi. II. G. iJarnard lias sent me tlie following; note; — 

 " I >ui'inf,' a collectiiiK trip on Cape York, in the sprint,' of i.Sijh and early months of 1897, I 

 fonnd Plilopus ewiiif^i fairly plentifully distributed. Their principal breedinf; place was the dense 

 mangrove swamps, the nests being placed at the end of a projecting bough, and often very 

 dinicalt to get at. The nests were generally observed by seeing the birds dash off and flutter 

 away; many contained young, but only a single egg or youn;,' bird was found in each. The 

 nests were placed at any height up to forty feet above the miul." 



()nly one egt; is laid for a sitting. 'I'ypically tliey are a lenf;thened ellipse or o\al in form, 

 white, very faintly tinged with cream, the shell being close-grained, smooth and almost lustreless. 

 An egg taken by Mr. Robert Hislop on the 3rd December, 1894, on the Hloomfield River, 

 North-eastern Queensland, measures: — Length i'2 x 0-83 inches. Another one taken by him 

 on the mtli January, 1895, measures: — -Length 1-22 x 0^83 inches. An egg taken from a nest 

 near the Daly River, in the Northern Territory of South Australia, on the 20th February, 1902, 

 measures ; —Length 1-13 x 0-87 inches. Two eggs in Mr. S. Robinson's collection, taken by 

 Mr. W. Munt from different nests on the 20th January, 1900, at Marton, near Cooktown, are of 

 a uniform pale cream colour, the shell being nnjre lustrous than is usually seen in the eggs of 

 the CoLUM3.«. They measure respectively ; — Length (A) i-o8 x o'8 inches; (J-i) 1-13 x o-8i 

 inches. 



In the Northern Territory of Soutli Australia Ewing's Fnut I'igeon usually breeds in 

 February and March, and in North-eastern Queensland from October until the middle of 

 I'ebruary. 



Ptilopus superbus. 



supp:kb fkuit-pigeon. 



(Jolumhii. siipcrbn, Teiimi. and Knip., Pig., p. "-'i, pi. -S-'') (1808-11). 

 J'/ilonojtiis siipfirliiis, Gould, JJds. Austr., fol. Vol. V ., pi. ."iT (1848). 

 Jjaiiiprd/ivrtiii nu/iei-hns, Gould, Haiulbk. lids. Austr., Vol. 11., p. 108 (1865) 

 I'tiJtipns siiperhxs, Salvad., Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus., Vol, XXL, p. 112 (1893). 

 Lnm/irolri'i-oii- ><uj)rrbii, .Sliarpc, Haiul-l. Brl.s., Vol. I., p. -"18 (1899). 



AbULT MALE. — (ip.iieral colour above gremi icaalifd ivit/i ijelloivish-olirf mi Ih" rump and (ail ; 

 saipidarx and ii/iprr iviiig-c.ovfr/s likr the back, tin' foriiiPr, Iho inner series of llir /jnater coverts, and 

 the iunerinosf secoiu/aries, ivliich are similar, iinlh a spot of deep blue near the ti/i : tin smaller loiny- 

 r.orerts at the shoidih'r ileep blue, /onniui/ a r'Jiis/nctioiit trniy patch: i/iiiUs black, the primaries 

 e.cternalli/ edijed on the apical portion of the outer 'veb irith yelloivish-u-hite, the outer u<ebs of the outer 

 secondaries maryined ivith greeii, edged externally and partially around their tips ivith yelloio, as are 

 the greater iviiig-corerls ; central piair of tail-feathers green, /nth the remains of a bluish snb-npicitl bund, 

 the lips white washed ivith, green, the remainder gree>i on their outer webs, blackish -brown on the 

 inner U'ehs, except at the base, tvhich is grey and largely tipped toith greyish-ichite, margined irith 

 green on their outer u-ebs : entire top of tlo- head purplish-violet : occiput and sides of the head green 

 sliyhtly nyished. with olive ; sides of the neck and hind-neck reddish-ochre, ms : chin and lower sides of 

 head grey ish-ujhite, paler ou the chin, the feathers below the eye slightly /vaslfd with green; centre of 

 lower throat, foreneck and upper breast grey, the basal portion of the feathers on the foreneck purple ,- 

 below the grey upper breast a well anil sharply drjitwd broad banil of indigo blue : remainder of the 

 ■under surface and under tail coverts white crossed with two v-ell defined green bands, broken in the 

 centre, the inner webs of some of the tinder tail-coverts streaked with green: "bill olive-green with 

 the tip yellowish ; fei-t rose colour: iris yllon- " {D' Alliertia). Total length !>'> inches, wing 5 ^Jfi, 

 tail S-:>, bill 0, tarsus 0-7. 



