378 BULLETIN 50, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



MELOPELIA ASIATICA ASIATICA (Linnaeus). 



WHITE-WINGED DOVE. 



Adult male. — Forehead fawn color, usually somewhat paler ante- 

 riorly, passing into a much darker hue (sometimes approaching dark 

 pm'ple-drab) on crown and occiput, which in fresh plumage shows 

 a purplish or vinaceous "bloom"; hindneck similar in color to occiput 

 but somewhat lighter; back, scapulars, proximal secondaries, and 

 wing-coverts plain deep buffy brown, light sepia, or saccardos 

 umber, the middle pair of rectrices (sometimes longer upper tail- 

 coverts also) similar, sometimes more decidedly brown; distal 

 wing-coverts mostly white, forming a conspicuous elongated patch 

 from bend of wing to extremity of greater coverts, the latter with 

 basal portion gray, as are also the coverts along inner margin of the 

 white area; alulae, primary coverts, primaries, and distal secondaries 

 dull black, the outer webs of secondaries broadly edged with white 

 distaUy, the primaries very narrowly edged with white (except 

 basally) and margined terminally with light or pale brownish gray; 

 rump hght slate-gray or dark gull gray, usually more or less tinged 

 with buffy brown (sometimes more brown than gray) , the upper tail- 

 coverts either whoUy brown or mixed brown and gray; rectrices 

 (except middle pair) slate-gray very broadly tipped (for about one- 

 fourth their length on innermost to about one-third on outermost) 

 with very pale gray to grayish white, and crossed by a band of slate- 

 black or blackish slate between the paler and darker areas; a sub- 

 orbital spot of blue-black or black glossed with steel blue; sides of 

 neck glossed with metallic reddish bronze to greenish bronze; sides 

 of head and neck, throat, f oreneck, chest, and upper breast (sometimes 

 whole breast) wood brown (more or less deep), paler (sometimes dull 

 whitish) on chin and upper throat, passing (sometimes rather ab- 

 ruptly) into pale gray (gull gray to pale neutral gray) on posterior 

 under parts, including under tail-coverts, the anal region white, or 

 nearly so ; sides and flanks (beneath wings) , axillars, and under wing- 

 coverts deeper gray (gull-gray or pale neutral gray); under surface of 

 tail slate-black broadly tipped with white or grayish white; bill black; 

 iris orange to orange-red or coral red; bare orbital space pale grayish 

 blue to campanula blue; legs and feet lake red; length (skins), 252- 

 313 (275); wing, 144.5-166 (156.3); tail, 97-115 (103.4); exposed 

 culmen, 18-22.5 (19.7); tarsus, 23.5-26 (24.7); middle toe, 23-26.5 

 (24.7) .« 



Adult female. — Similar to the adult male and sometimes not dis- 

 tinguishable but usually slightly duller in color, the purphsh hue of 

 occiput and hindneck less pronounced, or wanting, rump less bluish 



o Forty specimena. 



