Birds of Gambia. 45 



accented and going suddenly up and followed by a sharp break, 

 after which the strain is repeated. 



Mandingo names for the Green Pigeon are " Puto-puto " 

 or " Puror-puror," while in some parts of the country a different 

 name altogether, " Teyto-preto," is given to the young.* 



DESciurTiON. Adult. Head and neck greenish -grey, mantle 

 bright olive green, upper tail -coverts tlio same but washed with 

 yellow and having a yellow bar ac^ross tlie primaries; the greater 

 part of the wing-coverts a lovely purple -mauve. Tail slaty-blue 

 above, black with pale grey ends to tlie feathers l)elow. Breast 

 brighr. yellow, abdomen bull, under tail-coverts reddish -brown edged 

 with fawn. Bill and bare patcli on forclicad l)lue-grey. Tlie legs, 

 which are feathered nearly all the way down the tarsus with pale 

 fawn feathers are yellow-ochre, exactly the colour of good pie-crust. 

 Iris magenta Avith a mauve-blue inner ring. Length 12J inches. 



The young dilfer considerably from the adults. They are 

 distinctly smaller and lack the yellow breast, this part being entirely 

 green; the shoulder-patch also is smaller and a paler duller mauve. 

 The bill is pinkish grey at the end with a waxy red base and cere. 

 Legs as in the adult. Lis brown. One often sees birds intermediate 

 in plumage between the red-beak('d yf)uug and the full yellow - 

 breasted adult. In these the beak is pale brown in life but turns 

 blue-grey after death. The breast is yelloAV Init much paler and 

 less extensive than in the adult and all tlie rest of the jilumage, 

 both green and mauve, is altogether duller. The iris is entirely 

 magenta without any blue inner ring. The full plumage is prob- 

 ably not obtained till the bird is more than a year old_, at any 

 I'ate l>irds in young plumage are t'j be found neisting. 



Columba guiniensis. GUINEA PIGEON. 



Range. West Africa, Senegamliia to Nigeria; North-east and 

 East Africa. (H.L.) 



This species (also known as the Triangular spotted Pigeon) 

 is commonly called here the Rhun-Pigeon, because it roosts and 

 nests among the stalks of the huge fan -shape leaves of the tall 

 bulbous -trunkcd Bhun-palnis and is only found in those parts of 

 the country where these palms gmw. They are therefore only locally 

 distributed in the Gambia, but where found are quite common. 

 They are particularly numerous in the McCarthy Island Province, 

 though in certain places here, near trading stations Avhich have 

 recently sprung up or increased in size, they are much less common 

 than they wei'c when I first came to the country eii;-lit years ago. 

 Unlike our other pigeons they seem easily frightened by the near 



* In the Small Bird House at the Zoo there is this year 

 (1910) Tj young Green Pigeon, and two years ago there was another 

 specimen in the Western Aviary, ]>oth from another ]iart of AYest 

 Africa. I have had several alive for short periods, Init none liavc 

 survived to reach home. 



