230 INDIAN PIGEONS AND DOVES 



and centre of the throat albescent, remainder of lower-plumage to the vent 

 vinous-red ; vent, and feathers of tibia white, tinged with vinous, and under 

 tail-coverts nearly pure white ; under wing-coverts, axillaries, and flanks 

 very pale grey, the latter often being pure white ; under aspect of the tail 

 black at the base, pure white on the terminal third. 



Measurements. Length about 9 in. ( = 228.6 mm.) ; wing 5.15 

 { = 130.8 mm.) to 5.7 in. ( = 144.8 mm.), with an average of 5.4 in. 

 ( = 137.2 mm.) ; tail 3.75 ( = 95.2 mm.) to 4.20 in. ( = 106.7 mm.), generally 

 about 4 in. ( = 101.6 mm.) ; bill at front .52 in. ( = 13.2 mm.), and from 

 gape about .75 in. ( = 19 mm.) ; tarsus about .7 in. ( = 17.8 mm.). 



The bird with a wing measuring 5.7 in. is a specimen from Nepal 

 where the birds are intermediate between tranquebarica and humilis. 



Colours of soft parts. Irides hazel-brown to dark brown ; edge of eye- 

 lid plumbeous ; bill black, ratlier leaden on the cere and gape ; legs dull red, 

 dull purplish-red, or bro'(\'nisli-lake ; claws black. 



Female. The grey of the head and the ^'lnous-red on the upper-parts 

 of the male are replaced by pale earthy-brown, generally paler on the head, 

 whicli is often more or less tinged with grey ; rump and tail as in tlie male ; 

 chin and centre of throat albescent, lower-throat and breast light earthy- 

 brown, paler than the back and generally with a certain amount of vinous- 

 red suffused over it ; abdomen paler, and under tail-coverts and vent wliite ; 

 wing-coverts the same colour as the back, the outer lesser and median 

 coverts often much more grey, rarely a pure grey ; quills as in the male, 

 except innermost secondaries, which are the same colour as the back. 



The black collar on the female is sometimes edged above with grey. 



Measurements. The female Ls slightly smaller than the male on an 

 average : the wing runs from 4.80 in. ( = 122 mm.) to 5.35 in. ( = 135.3 mm.) 

 with an average of 5.15 in. ( = 130.7 mm.), and the other measurements 

 vary correspondingly. 



Colours of soft parts as in the male. 



Young in first plumage resemble the female, but the feathers of the 

 upper-plumage, wing-coverts, and breast are narro^\ly edged with very pale 

 fulvous, scarcely noticeable on the breast and most distinct on the scapulars. 

 The iris is a pale dull brown. 



Young male after autumn-mxndt assumes in part the plumage of the 

 adult, the black colour of the collar appears in a patch on either side of 

 the neck, the breast becomes more distinctly vinous-red, and the same 

 colour appears in patches on the wing-coverts, scapulars, and upper-back ; 

 the grey head is one of the last characteristics to be developed, and at this 

 stage of the plumage the innermost-secondaries and outer-coverts are tipped 

 pale and subtipped with a bar of blackish-bro\\n. 



Nestling, in doion, is yellowish-white, the upper-parts darker than the 

 lower and rather buff in tint. 



Distribution. Practically throughout India from the extreme west in 

 Bind and the North-west Provinces, as far east as Bengal and Behar in the 

 plains, and the ^est of Nepal in the hills. In the south of India it is rare in 

 the wet, forested portions of Malabar and Travancore, but extends to the 

 drier area in the latter countrj'. Throughout south-east India it is found 

 as far north as Orissa, being rare in the forested portions of that province. 

 In Bengal it Ls common in the west, rare in the east, and in Assam and the 



