I07 



^be Bluc=tailc^ lfruit=lPi9eon. 



(Caipophaga conciiina). 

 Ey H. GoODCHii.D, M.B.O.U. 



W^I'mongst the many fine species of Pigeons now 



Y\ to be seen at the Zoological Gardens, probably 



f^^ the finest is the Blue-tailed Fruit-Pigeon 



( Carpophaga concinna). These fine birds, like 



the others of tlie same genus that are to be seen in the 



Gardens, seem to take kindly to captivity and to be 



none the worse for being transported from luxuriant 



islands in the tropical seas to dull and comparatively 



cold regions such as they are now in. Within the last 



few years, four species of Fruit-Pigeons have come to 



the Gardens, and all four are still to be seen there, 



though they are not all together. 



To the great naturalist A. R. Wallace belongs 

 the credit of having discovered the Blue-tailed Fruit- 

 Pigeon, and it was he who gave it the name of 

 Ca7-pophaga cojicmna,hy -which it is generally known. 

 In his delightful "Malay Archipelago" Wallace thus 

 describes the discovery of these birds in the K6 

 Islands. " The most trodden path from the beach led 

 us into a shady hollow, where the trees were of im- 

 mense height and the undergrowth scant}'. From the 

 summits of these trees came at intervals a deep boom- 

 ing sound, wliicli at first puzzled us, but which we 

 soon found to proceed from some large Pigeons. My 

 boys shot at them, and after one or two misses, 

 brought one down. It was a magnificent bird twenty 

 inches long, of a bluish white colour, with the back> 

 wings, and tail, intense metallic green, with golden, 

 blue, and violet reflections, the feet coral red, and the 

 eyes golden yellow. It is a rare species, which I have 

 named Carpophaga C07ici7nia, and is found only in a few 

 small islands, where, however, it abounds. It is the 

 same species which in the island of Banda is called the 



