RED-BILLED PIGEON 367 



male was on the nest and did not fly off until the hunter was directly beneath 

 the nest. 



Eggs. — Apparently the red-billed pigeon usually lays but one egg, 

 though possibly very rarely two. The shape is oval or elliptical oval, 

 the shell is smooth and slightly glossy, and the color is pure white. 

 The measurements of 33 eggs average 38.6 by 27.3 millimeters; the 

 eggs showing the four extremes measure 41.4 by 27.9, 39 by 29.5, 34 

 by 26.5, and 36.8 by 25 millimeters. 



Plumages. — The squab, which I found in the nest mentioned 

 above, is described in my notes as nearly naked, the dark, reddish- 

 brown skin being only sparsely covered with short, black pinfeathers. 

 Sennett (1879) says: 



The young from the egg have the upper parts plumbeous and sparsely 

 covered with dark hair-like feathers. Under parts are pale and naked. The 

 half-grown young have plumage on the body like the adult. Head and flanks 

 do not become feathered until bird is nearly fledged, and in half-grown young 

 Just commences to show. 



Food. — There is a brief statement by Sennett (1879) that "their 

 food when " he " saw them was chiefly the hackberry fruit." 



Col. Andrew J. Grayson (1871) says: 



This is the largest of our pigeons, and abundant in the Marias, as well as in 

 some localities on the mainland. It is gregarious and frequents large forests, 

 feeding upon various kinds of berries, acorns, etc., etc. It migrates from one 

 part of the country to another in small flocks. In sonre seasons of the year the 

 flesh of this bird has a bitter, disagreeable taste, caused by some species of 

 berry or small bitter acorn upon which it subsists. 



Dr. E. W. Nelson (1899), writing of the birds of the Tres Marias 

 Islands, states : 



On Maria Magdalena they were numerous in some trees near a group of 

 deserted houses and in old clearings a short distance back from the shore. 

 They came to these trees to feed upon the ripening fruit, but were rather shy. 

 When one becomes startled and takes wing it makes a loud flapping noise 

 that alarms its companions, and then all dash swiftly away. They were less 

 confiding than most of the birds on the islands, but were not so shy as their 

 representatives on the mainland. Wild figs and the small fruit of a tree, prob- 

 ably a species of Psidium, or wild guava, were favorite articles of food. Their 

 loud cooing note is uttered at short intervals and is one of the characteristic 

 sounds in the forests they frequent. They are essentially arboreal in habits 

 and are rarely seen near the ground. 



Behavior. — The red-billed pigeon reminds one of a domestic 

 pigeon in its swift, strong, steady, and direct flight and in its similar 

 but louder cooing notes. 



Sennett (1878) writes: 



Like all the Pigeons, it is fond of the water. Any morning will find numbers 

 of all the different species going to and coming from the sand-bars in the river, 

 where they are in the habit of drinking and bathing. The cooing of this bird 



