150 BULLETIN 186, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



I think there can be little doubt that our birds are feral descendants 

 of introduced stock, which was perhaps brought in during the earliest 

 days of Thai intercourse with India. The species is to a great extent 

 associated with the monasteries, many of which have large cotes in 

 their precincts. Since the birds are at liberty and must fend for them- 

 selves, they are often found feeding in the fields at some distance from 

 home. In the open country the pigeon is wilder and warier than it 

 is in the grounds of the monastery, where there is constant human 

 activity. 



In support of my opinion on the true status of this species in Thai- 

 land, two facts may have value as circumstantial evidence. First, 

 while the truly wild rock pigeon in other parts of its range is charac- 

 teristically a bird of cliffs and crags, especially in uninhabited areas, 

 with us it is wholly unknown at such places, however suitable they 

 seem to be ; second, although all other pigeons and doves are constantly 

 shot for food by the northern people, the rock pigeon is spared, being 

 considered no more legitimate a target than the domestic fowl. 



Since this bird is well known to everyone in Thailand, no detailed 

 description will be given. 



COLUMBA PULCHRICOLLIS BIyth 



Slate-colored Wood Pigeon 



C[olumba] pulchricollis "Hodgson" Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, vol. 14, pt. 2, 

 1845 [=1846], pp. 866-867 ("The wooded region of the eastern Himalaya" 

 = Nepal). 



Columba pulchricollis, Gkeenway, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 87, 1940, p. 194 

 (Doi AngKa). 



This large pigeon is known from Thailand by a single pair, col- 

 lected March 29 and 30, 1937, at the summit of Doi Ang Ka, by the 

 members of the Asiatic Primate Expedition. It may eventually be 

 found at high altitudes on other northern peaks. 



It has the head ashy gray; around the neck a buff collar, broader 

 behind, where each feather has a partly exposed black base; below this 

 collar, on the upper back and upper breast, another of glossy green 

 and purple ; the remaining upperparts slate, paler on the rump ; the 

 throat whitish ; the remaining underparts ashy gray, on the abdomen 

 washed with buff ; the under tail coverts pale buff. 



MACROPYGIA UNCHALL TUSALIA (Blyth) 



Indian Barred-tailed Cuckoo Dove 



Columba (Macropygia) tusalia "Hodgson" Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 



vol. 12, 1843, pp. 936-937 (Darjiling). 

 Macropygia tusalia, Gyldenstolpe, Kungl. Svenska Vet.-Akad. Handl., 1916, 



p. 151 (Khun Tan). 



