(6) OSMOTRERON POMPADORA POMPADORA (Gm.). 



THE POMPADOUR GREEN PIGEON. 



Columba pompadora Gm., Syst. Nat., I p. 775 (1788) ; Blyth, J.A.S.B., 



XIV p. 852. 

 Treron pompadora Blyth, J.A.S.B., XXI p. 356. 

 Vinago aromatica Jerdon, Madr. J.L.S., XII p. 13. 

 Treron malabarica (part) Blyth, Cat. B.M.A.S.B., p. 229. 

 Treron flavogularis id., J.A.'S.B., XXVI p. 225. 

 Osmotreron flavogularis id. ib., XXXI p. 344. 

 Osmotreron pompadora Hume, Str. Feath., Ill p. 162 ; id. ib., VI p. 414 ; 



id., Cat. no. 777 ; Legge, B. Cey., p. 728 ; Parker, Str. Feath., IX p. 481 ; 



Salvadori, Cat. B.M., XXI p. 51 ; Blanf., Avi. Brit. I., IV p. 9 ; Sharpe, 



Hand-List, I p. 54 ; Butler, J.B.N.H.S., X p. 311. 

 Osmotreron pompadoura Jerdon, B.I., III p. 452. 



Vernacular Names. Batta-goya, Cing. ; Patcha-praa, Alam-praa, Tamil 

 in Ceylon. 



Description. Adult male. — ^The colour of the upper-parts where red, 

 agrees in tint with the same parts in 0. p. affinis. It differs from that subspecies 

 in having the fore-head, lores, and sides of the head more yellowish and the 

 chin and throat a pure, almost lemon-yellow. The grey of the crowTi is 

 generally entirely replaced wth green, though a few specimens have a fairly 

 distinct patch of grey in the centre. The lower tail-coverts are a pale, bufiy- 

 white instead of cinnamon. 



Adult female. Differs from the male in the same way as they do in the 

 other subspecies. 



Colours of soft parts. " Bill glaucous green, paling to bluish in the 

 apical portion ; irides carmine red wdth a cobalt inner circle ; eyelids glaucous 

 green ; legs and feet purple-red " (Legge). 



Measurements. Length about 10.5 in ; tail 3.6 ; wing 5.6 ; tarsus .8 

 bill from gape .9 in. (Blanford). 



There is only a small series of these birds in the British Museum, but 

 enough to show that the sexes do not differ materially, if at all, in size. The 

 wings vary from 5.45 in. ( = 138.4 mm.) to 5.76 ( = 146.2 mm.) and average 

 5.63 ( = 142.8 mm.), the extremes in size being, in each case, the measure- 

 ment of the wing of a female. 



Distribution. Ceylon. — Jerdon gives the habitat of this bird as Southern 

 India also, but this is probably due to some mistake. Since Blanford wTote 

 the Avifauna of British India, several field-ornithologists have worked Southern 

 India well (amongst others who might be mentioned are Cardew, Fairbank, 

 Bell, Dewar, Major Smith, Bourdillon, and others), but none have ever come 

 across it. 



