I"l0 PKUISTKRIDTE. 



own col'iur so nuicli that it was ditiicult to detect them. l>uiing tlie month of |uly, lyoi, while 

 in about Lat. i6° 17' S. and Lonj;. 125° 21" E., 1 found the nest of this Pigeon, one on 

 the 3rd July, the other on the 4tii, each containing two fresh eggs, but unfortunately broke one 

 egg of the last set taken. The nests were shght hollows, about two inches in depth, scooped in 

 the ground, and lined with dead soft grass. One was sheltered behind a tuft of soft spinifex, the 

 other beside a stone. These nests and eggs are very similar to those of Gropluips siiiithi, of which 

 I found two nests with eggs in the same locality on the 3rd and 4th of July." 



The eggs of I'ctrophassa alhifcnnis, are oval in form, the shell being close-grained, smooth and 

 lustrous. One set is of a light cream colour, and measures: — Length (A) fi6 x o-86 inches; 

 (B) 1-07 X 0-83 inclies. The remaining egg of the second set taken is creamy-white in colour, 

 and measures ; — Length i-ir x u''S4 inches. 



Sub-family GEOTRYGONIN^. 



OenvLS XjEIXJOOS-A-I^OI-A., Gould. 



Leucosarcia picata. 



WONiiA PIiiKON. 

 Ciih()iil>n picata, Lath, Tnd. r)rn., Suppl., p. lix. (1802). 



L'acosnrci,, jnr,il,i, (ioukl, l!ils. .\uslr., fol, V.,1. V, pi. (j3 (L^f.s); i./., liandlik. IIils Austr., Vol. 

 II., p L20 (ISG.-i) ; Salvad., Cat. I'.ds. IJrit. Mus, Vol, XXI., p. fiOT (IS'.)::!) ; Sharpe, Haiui I. 

 Ikl.s, Vol. I., p. 'JO (1S',)9). 



Adult male. — OfMeral colour above, dark slatij-fimj \ ujimj.f brount iintli a slalij-grcy tcns/i, >r/iich 

 IK miiri' distinct oil the iijijicr inini/rovertu: tail slajy-groj, the. lateral feathers tijiped iritlt trhite ; 

 forehead and croa'ii of t/ie head n'liite : lores black ; cliin and a line bejon: the eye dull n'hite : siiles 

 of tlie heojl and longer neck light (jrey, passim/ into a dark slaty (jreij on the breast, n/iic/i is broken 

 by a ipliite collar extendi ni/ /rum t/ie sides of the liind-neck, and i/radnally n-ideuiiiy ont meets on the 

 breast : bacer breast and abdomen ivhite, tlie feathers on the abdomen atid ihejlanks havitiy n triaiiyulnr 

 spot oj black rn, the centre .• under tail-cucerts bron'n, broadly edyed n'ith bnjl'y-n hite and indistinctly 

 tippi'i! iritli ivhile. Total lenijtli in the ib's/t lH indies, n-inij S- .', tail >i, bill 11 i;.'i, tarsus l'i>!) 



Adult fkm.^i.k. — .Similar in plumage to the male. 



Disfi'ibiififlii. —Queens\a.nd, New South Wales, X'lctoria. 



/~|^HL Wonga Pigeon is distributed throughout the coastal brushes and contiguous mountain 

 J- ranges of Eastern and South-eastern Australia, and is probalily more freely dispersed 

 in Eastern New South Wales than elsewhere. The nearest place to Sydney I have seen these 

 birds in any numbers was at Ourimbah, but they are now comparatively rare there owing to 

 the clearing of the brush. iVfany were trapped in this locality in 1899-1901. Seated (juietly 

 one summer's day on a log in the welcome shade of the brush here, my attention was 

 drawn to the patter of some bird's feet on the dead fallen leaves. A little later I found that 

 it was caused by a young Wonga Pigeon, searching for food only a few yards away. Remaining 

 seated, perfectly still, the bird jumped on the other end of the log, and gradually approached 

 until it was within three feet of me, but being bitten with mosquitoes caused me to raise a hand. 

 This, however, did not scare it away, for it only Ikittered to the ground, and again began its 

 perambulations over the leaves until it became lost to view. 



Mr. P. Lucas informs me that he often trapped these birds at Raleigh, on the Bellinger 

 Ki\er. P"or some time previously to building the trap he would place crushed maize in the 



