LOPHOF-HAPS. 



145 



Adult frmale. — Similar in iiliimaye to thi' mah-. 

 Distrihution. — Western Australia, North-western Australia. 

 "ITsnT N LI KR the preceding,' species, the Kust-coloured Brunze-win^' is entirely restricted in 

 V_^ its liabitat to the coastal and contiguous districts of Western and North-western 

 Australia, and out of which State it has never been found. Gould originally described Lophophaps 

 fcvnif^iuca in his " Handbook to the Ilirds of Australia,"' and stated that it inhabits the " extreme 

 western part of that great country opposite Shark's ESay and Dirk Hartog's Island," from 

 specimens obtained by Mr. T. F. Gregory, who found it in large numbers on the Gascoygne 

 River, where he had occasionally seen more than five hundred come down to drink in less than 

 half an hour. Mr. Tom Carter met with it in the same locality, and as far north as the North- 

 west Cape. Mr. G. A. Keartland, while a member of the Calvert Exploring lixpedition, 

 obtained specimens at Mount Arthur and Gorda Tower, and subsequently Mr. I"^. J. Harris 

 secured its eggs. Mr. T. H. ISowyer-Bower procured specimens near Derby, in iS86. 

 All writers agree that it is found only near water, and in rocky situations assimilating in colour 

 with its plumage and environment. The present species may ea.,ily be distinguished from 

 Lophophaps plumifeva by the absence of the white band on the chest and its uniform rich cinnamon- 

 coloured breast and abdomen. .An adult male and female obtained near Mount Arthur by the 

 Calvert Exploring Expedition in 1896, is slightly darker and richer in colour than specimens 

 procured by Mr. T. H. Bowyer-Bower, near Derby, in October, 1886. The sexes are 

 alike in plumage, but individual variation exists in the depth of tlie white band on the throat; 

 in some specimens it is crescentic in form, in others it extends in a V-shaped marking down 

 the throat. Freshly moulted birds are richer in colour than those just about to undergo the 

 moult, in fact I have seen •' sub-species" created on far less slender grounds than are found in 

 birds of this species obtained just before and after the moult. Some adult specimens have the 

 under tail-coverts strongly washed with cinnamon, others have it entirely chestnut. 



From Melbourne, \'ictoria, Mr. G. II. Keartland sent me the following notes:—" Large 

 numbers of Rust-coloured Bronze-win-s {Lophophaps fcn'u;j:inca) were to be seen in the vicinity of 

 Mount Arthur and Gorda Tower (a red sandstone eminence) in North-western Australia. 

 Owing to the colour of their plumage and the sandy soil or rocks which they frequent being 

 identical, they easily escape notice. They run rapidly over the ground or rocks, carrying them- 

 selves very upright, crest erect and tail drooping just clear of the ground. Occasionally single 

 birds are seen near their nests, but when travelling to their feeding grounds or water they 

 assemble in large flocks. When disturbed they rise with a ' whirr,' caused by the rapid 

 movement of their wings, but after travelling a few yards they simply glide away holding their 

 wings horizontally. In their general habits they more nearly resemble Quail than Pigeons. 

 They delight in running amongst the spinifex and other cover, and generally deposit their eggs 

 on the sheltered side of a tussock. When cooked their flesh is beautifully white, and of delicate 

 flavour. To the sportsman these birds furnish an ideal game. Whether basking in the sun on 

 the rocky sides of the ferruginous sandstone hills, or feeding on the sand amongst the Triodia, 

 their colour harmonises so closely with their surroundings that unless they fly they are difficult 

 to hiul. I never saw one make the slightest attempt to perch on a tree." 



From 1 iroome Hill, South-western Australia, Mr. Tom Carter sent me the following notes :— 

 " Lophiphiips fcvruginca is found in North-western Australia in the vicinity of water, where rocky 

 ground occurs. I have observed them at Rocky Pool, on the Lower Gascoyne River, and at 

 several similar situations on the Minilya, Lyons, and Lyndon Rivers; also at Yardie Creek and 

 other pools on the North-west Cape Peninsula. They are extremely tame when coming to 

 drink, approaching one fearlessly at a distance of a few feet, the male birds often strutting about 

 on the boulders, cooing lustily, with crests erect. In habits they much resemble the English 



' Gould, Handbk. Bds. Austr., Vol. II., p. 137 (1S65). 

 37 



