236 BIRDS OF DAMARA LAND. 



284. Chalcopelia afra (Linn.). Emerald-spotted Dove. 

 La Tourterelle hnemudine, Levaillant's Ois. d'Afr. pi. 271. 

 Peristera afra, Strickland & Sclater, Birds Damar., Contr. Orn. 

 1852, p. 157. 

 „ „ Layard's Cat. No. 513. 



Columba afra, Chapman's Travels in S. Afr., App. p. 411. 

 Chalcopeleia afra, Finsch & Hartlaub's Vogel Ost-Afrika's, p. 554. 

 Chalcopelia chalcospilos, Gray's Hand-list of Birds, No. 9409. 



Some naturalists are for separating the South-African 

 race of this bird from that of Western and Northern 

 Africa, gi^ing to the former the specific name of chalco- 

 spilos and to the latter of afra. and grounding the di- 

 stinction chiefly on the colour, or rather shading, of the 

 metallic spots on the wing-coverts. These, they main- 

 tain, are in the northern race more or less of a steel- 

 blue passing into strong green on the borders, whilst in 

 the southern race the green extends all over the spot 

 and is of a clear and uniform tint. But I cannot help 

 thinking that this distinction is too trivial to constitute 

 a diagnostic character, especially as, according to my 

 experience, there is a difference between the sexes of 

 the South-African bird in this respect, the colour of the 

 spots being in the male of a beautiful duck-green, with 

 bronze reflections in a few individuals ; in the female the 

 spots are smaller, less bright, and with more of a 

 purplish hue. 



I have never observed this pretty Dove in Great 

 Namaqua Land, nor in Southern Damara Land. I con- 

 sider Omanbonde its southerly limit ; and in travelling 

 northwards I did not find it abundant till 1 reached 

 Okamabuti, some miles to the north of Omanbonde ; 

 from tlience to the Okavango Kiver it was common. 



