316 BULLETIN 50, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



tarsus in front feathered; middle toe (without claw) much longer 

 than tarsus (in ratio of 1.20 to 1); lateral toes much shorter, the 

 outer one slightly longer than the inner, its claw falling a little short 

 of base of middle claw; hallux rather large, longer (without claw) 

 than basal phalanx of middle toe. 



Plumage arid coloration. — Plumage essentially normal but rather 

 hard, the feathers everywhere (except on pileum and sides of head) 

 distinctly outlined; naked chcumorbital space restricted. Neck, 

 all round, spotted with white and light cinnamon-rufous and broadly 

 squamated with black; under parts whitish or pale purplish brown, 

 squamated with darker; sexes distinctly different, the adult male 

 with back, scapulars, wing-coverts, and rump purplish chestnut, the 

 adult female with the same parts dull browai. 



Range. — Continental tropical America, from southeastern Mexico 

 to Brazil and Peru. (Monotypic.) 



LEPIDffiNAS SPECIOSA (Gmelin). 



SCALED PIGEON. 



Adult male. — Pileum (mcluding nape) and sides of head plain 

 dark livid brown, mars violet, or dark mineral red — rarely dusky 

 brown; hindneck broadly squamated with black, strongly glossed 

 with metallic purple, bronze, or green, each feather of the upper 

 hindneck with a central triangular or subcordate spot of white, 

 these spots gradually larger and tinged with light cinnamon-rufous 

 on middle hmdneck, those of the lower hindneck and extreme upper 

 back still larger and wholly cinnamon-rufous ; back, scapulars, lesser 

 wing-coverts, and rump plain chestnut or bay, the upper tail-coverts 

 middle and greater wing-coverts, and proximal secondaries much 

 duller and browner; tail deep grayish brown (nearly clove brown) 

 basally passmg into dull black apically; distal secondaries, primaries, 

 primary coverts, and alulae dark grayish brown, the remiges, especially 

 longer primaries, narrowly edged with paler; chm and extreme upper 

 throat plam light russet-vinaceous to very pale grayish vinaceous; 

 lower throait, foreneck, sides of neck, and upper chest heavily squa- 

 mated with black, glossed with metallic violet, purple, or bronze, 

 each feather with a central transversely semicircular or subcordate 

 spot of white or light cmnamon-rufous and tipped with white; lower 

 chest, breast, and sides varying from white to pale grayish brown 

 or pale purple-drab, the feathers more or less broadly margined with 

 dark vinaceous-brown to seal brown or blackish brown, the abdomen 

 and under tail-coverts white, more narrowly margined termmaUy 

 with dark brown or dusky; axillars and under wing-coverts quaker 

 drab to deep vinaceous-gray, tinged with chestnut toward edge of 

 wing; bill vermilion red (in life); "■ iris brown; '^ legs and feet laven- 



« According to Dr. Charles W. Riclimond. 



