714 ^' YS 2 'EMA TIC S YNOPSIS. — COL UMB.E — PERIS TER^. 



Sennett (Coues, Bull. Nutt. Club, July, 1877, p. 82). It has au extremely unfortunate synony- 

 matic record. Besides all the trouble with the generic name (see above), it bears the follovvin<'- : 

 Peristera hmchi/ptera G. R. GtUAY, 185(3, a bare name having no standing till used as Leptoptila 

 hraclujptera by Salvadori, in 18'J3, for the stock species. Leptoptila ulbifrons, of authors, 

 not of Bp., whose bird turns out to be another species, ^chmoptila ulbifrons Coues, 1878. 

 Engyptila albifrons Coues, Key, 2d-4th eds. 1884-90, p. 567; Riugw. Man. 1887, p. 214; 

 A. 0. U. List, 1886, No, 318. Leptoptila falHcentris Lawr. 1882, and Engyjjtila fitlfiventris 

 Lawr. 1885, being the earliest names given with a description to the stock form from Yuca- 

 tan, and our bird being a subspecies of that, it becomes fulviventris hracliyptera ; and this 

 phrase, coupled with the misspelled generic name that Swainson gave these birds in 1837, pro- 

 duces the strictly canonical miracle of Leptotila fulviventris hracliyptera (Salvad.), A. 0. U. 

 List, 2d cd. 1895, No 318. 



ZENAIDU'RA. (Zenaida, nom. propr., and ovpd, onra, tail.) Pin-tail Doves. Tail long, 

 about equalling wings, cuneate, of 14 narrow, tapering, obtuse-ended feathers (unique among 

 North American Columhidcc). Wings pointed; 2d primary rather longest, 1st and 3d about 

 equal and scarcely shorter. Tarsus naked, scutellate in front, in length intermediate between 

 middle and lateral toes ; latter of unequal lengths, outer shortest. Bill much shorter than head, 

 slender and weak, the feathers running out far between the rami. A bare circumorbital space. 

 Velvety black spots on head and wings. Lining of wings not rufous. Sexes unlike. There 

 is a curious mimicry oi Edopistes in form and even in color ; but the technical characters are 

 widely different. 



Z. macrura. (Gr. fiaKpov, makros, long, and ovpd, oura, tail. Fig. 484.) Carolina Dove. 

 Mourning Dove. Turtle Dove. Wild Dove. Adult ^: Upper parts, including middle 



tail-feathers, grayish-blue shaded with brown- 

 ish-olive; head and neck ochrey-brown overlaid 

 with glaucous blue ; sides of neck glittering 

 with golden and ruby iridescence ; a violet- 

 black spot under ear-coverts. Under parts 

 glaucous - purplish, changing gradually to 

 ochraceous on belly and crissum, to bluish on 

 sides and under wings, to whitish on chin ; 

 the purplish tint spreading up on sides and 

 front of head to blend with the glaucous-blue. 

 Fig. 484. -Carolina Dove, nat. size. (Ad. nat. del. E. C.) gj.^^j^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^,f ^j^^ SCapulars and 



wing-coverts, most of which are c(dored to correspond with back, the larger ones being rather 

 bluish-plumbeous. Lateral tail-feathers plumbeous-bluish, crossed with a black bar, the outer 

 4 on each side broadly ended with white. Bill black ; angle of mouth carmine ; iris brown ; 

 bare skin around eye livid bluish ; feet lake-red, drying dull yellowish. Length about 12.50; 

 extent about 18.00; wing 5.75; tail the same, the feathers graduated for ^ its length ; cuhnen 

 0.60; tarsus 0.80; middle toe and claw 1 .00. Adult 9= A little smaller, not purplLsh below, 

 the rich color replaced by grayish-brown, like back but paler; head and neck with little glau- 

 cous blue shade, and less iridescent. Young: Like 9; l»ut at an early age the velvety-black 

 spots and iridescence are wanting, and the general tone is quite gray ; many feathers with 

 whitish edging, as in the Wild Pigeon, with which not only the colors but the sexual and 

 juvenile differences are thus closely correspondent. Temperate N. Am., N. to southern British 

 provinces, most widely diffused of its tribe, abundant in most localities, in st)me swarming — 

 " millions" in Arizona, for example. S. to the West Indies and Panama. Irregularly migra- 

 tory, imperfectly gregarious; great numbers may be together, but scarcely in compact Hocks; 

 breeds throughout its North American range. Terrestrial rather than arboreal, almost always 

 feeding on the ground ; where very numerous, they become familiar, like Blackbirds in the 



