138 Birds of Gamhia. 



It has fallen to my lot to arrang-e the re -modelling 

 and fitting, and I hope the foregoing notes will be of some 

 general practical interest to members in general, as well as 

 to indicate that any birds sent will have hygienic, comfortable, 

 and natural quarters, in which to disport themselves, and I 

 hope reproduce their kind. 



In another portion of the Magazine (under Editorial) 

 will be found a list of birds, either sent or promised, and it will 

 be seen that more are still needed. 



Birds of Gambia, 



By E. HoPKiNsoN, D.S.O., M.A., M.B. 



Conf'niiied frofii page 73. 



ChalcopeUa afra. RUFOUS-WINGED DOVE. 



Range. Tropical Africa. (H.L.) 



This Dove is commonly known as the " Emerald Dove," but 

 this is a bad name (except no doubt for advertisement purposes), 

 as iu is based merely on the presence of a small spot of dark green 

 (not even bright green, and the spot too, is more often dark blue) 

 on tlip upper surface of each wing; these spots can by no means 

 be made to even suggest an emerald or its colour, and besides, 

 they are so little conspicuoTis as to be hardly visible at a few yards 

 distance. On the other hand, the epithet " rufous -winged " is a 

 very happy one as the light brown under surface of the wings, so 

 onnspiouous in fliglit, is the liird's most characteristic feature. 



These Doves are common throughout the Gambia and are 

 haunters of the bush, not of the cultivated areas or villages. They 

 spend much of their time and obtain their food ("mainly grass-seeds) 

 on the ground, but roost and nest in bushes and low trees. When 

 disturbed they rise with a loud, quite partridge-like whirr and fly 

 into shelter with rapid darting flight. Their note is a quadrisyllabic 

 coo, which is commonly translated into the words, " Better-go-home," 

 Better-go -home," an accurate, but an irritating and too appropriate 

 a rendering when one is coming wearily home after an evening 

 with the gun when one has missed everything one has fired at. The 

 Mandingo name is " Suntukunta Purah." 



DEscRirTioN. Crown clear blue-grey, rest of upper sur- 

 face pale sepia brown crossed on the rump by two bars of much 

 darker brown. Wing-coverts and quills chocolate-brown; on some 

 of the inner coverts are one or two circular spots of metallic dark 

 blue or bottle-green. Tail-coverts and tail brown, intermediate 

 in shade between that of the wings and mantle; tail feathers 

 tipped with black, the outer pair with white bases also. Belo,w» 

 brown washed with vinous, paler on the chin and belly. Under 



