262 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



coloured Indian representative ("Birds of India," 

 Vol. III., p. 474) that it "is found singly, occasionally 

 in small parties ; feeds on various fruits, which it 

 chiefly takes from the trees, now and then descending 

 to the ground. Its voice is a deep, repeated cao. 1 

 found its nest on the Khasia Hills at about 4,500 feet 

 on trees, at a moderate elevation." 



Russ evidently regards this and the Indian .1/. 

 fi/salio as one species, and he considers it of no interest 

 for aviculture, because, he says, it has only existed in 

 the London Zoological Gardens, where, however, one 

 example was exhibited in 1875 and two in 1892. but 

 under the incorrect locality of " Celebes" ! 



Emili.\x Pigeon {Mac7-op!/(jia eniiliana). 

 _ Back, rump, wings, and tail deep chestnut, faintly 

 tinged with purplish ; flights brown, their inner webs 

 broadly cinnamon ; tail conspicuously rufescent, the 

 three outer pairs of feathers Ibrig'ht rufous, with a broad 

 lilack belt extending towards the base of the inner web ; 

 liead, neck, and under .surface cinnamon-rufous; the 

 hind neck and upper mantle with a lilacine lustre, 

 the latter finely freckled with brown ; bill horny or flesh- 

 coloured ; feet red or purplish ; irides pearly, or red 

 with a yellow iimer ring. Female without lilacine 

 lu.'tre on upper surface, and more or le.=s barred, espe- 

 cially on the nape and mantle, which are bright cinna- 

 mon : below cinnamon with transveiee dusky bars on 

 the lower throat and breast according to a specimen 

 .■■■exed by Wallace. I found the following differences in 

 undoubted females: — The mantle crossed by dusky- 

 tiordered cinnamon bars; throat paler ; breast broadeV, 

 with du.sky margins to the feathers in front. Hab., 

 Java, Lombock, and X. Borneo. 



Ac-cording to Mr. J. Whitehead {The IbU. 1898, 

 p. 233), this species nests in open localities in dead 

 bracken only a foot or two above the ground, its 

 plumage assimilating perfectly with the dead fern. 



An example' of this pigeon was purchased by the 

 London Zoological Society in 1866. 



Phe.\sant-t.uled Pigkon (Macrvpi/ijia phaxiandhi). 



Chestaut-brown ; flights brown ; tail reddish-brown, 

 the three outer feathers brighter reddish, especially on 

 the inner webs, the outermost also on the outer web ; 

 all three with a broad black belt extending towards 

 ba.«e of inner web; forehead and throat paler che.'<tnut ; 

 back of head and hind neck metallic lilacine shot with 

 green; lower throat tinged with vinaceous and nar- 

 rowly barred with blackish ; under wing-covertis, axil- 

 laries, and inner margins of primaries reddish-cinna- 

 mon ; bill dark olive-bro^vn, mealy at base ; feet 

 pinkish-red ; irides blue with an outer circle of scarlet ■ 

 orbits mealy bluish-lilac. Female chestnut-brown, the 

 upper part of head much redder, as well as the edo-es 

 ot the upper wing-coverts ; sides of head and neck 

 rufous bai-red with brown ; under surface finely freckled 

 with dark brown. Hab., " Australia, from Cape York 

 to \irtoria and 8. Australia." (Salvadori.) 



(iniild t^iys ("Handbook," Vol. II., pp. 148. 149): 

 '■ 1 he nitci lor of the dense brushes are the favourite 

 liaunt.i of this bird, but it occasionally resorts to the 

 crowns of the low hills and the open glades of the forest 

 where it .■searches for its food on the ground ; on beino- 

 disturbed it fl'es to the branches of the nearest tre=" 

 siireading out its broid tail at the moment of alighting' 

 l-rom IllaH-arra to Moreton Buv it is a common and 

 stationary species. It is a fine,"sho^vv liird in a state 

 ot nature, and exhibits itself to great advantat'e when 

 It rises from the ground to the trees. While traversing 

 the lirushes I frequentlv saw this bird busily engaged 

 searching on the ground for fallen seeds and berries. 

 Karely were more than four or five seen at one time 



and mcfit frequently it occurred singly or in pairs." 

 " As its lengthened tarsi would lead us to imagine, it 

 spends much of its time on the ground ; and when 

 flushed in the depths of the forest it merely flies to 

 the branch of some low tree, and there remains with 

 little appearance of fear. 



" Its note is loud, momnful, and monotonous." 



A. J. Campbell (" Xests and Eggs of Australian Birds," 

 p. 674) saye : "IK est. — A primitive' structure, being, 

 simply a tew sticks placed crosswise, without any 

 cavitv, and barely sufficient to retain the eg^' in position. 

 (North.) 



" A nest found in the Richmond River district was. 

 large for that of a pigeon, being 6 inches across, with a 

 cavity about 1 inch deep, while the whole was 9 inches 

 in depth ; but the foundation tapered to a point, making 

 the etructm-e appear like an inverted triangle, which 

 was inserted in the topmost forked branches of a 

 buoyong (Tarrietia) sapling, at a height of about 

 30 feet from the ground. 



" Eggs. — ^Clutch, one to two ; elliptical in shape,, 

 sharply nipped off at one end ; texture of shell fine and 

 brittle ; surface glo.=sy ; colour white, with a faint 

 creamy tone. Dimensionvs in inchrs of single examples 

 (1) 1.36 X .96, (2) 1.33 x -96, (3) 1.38 x -97." 



Mr. Campbell says that this species feeds on the- 

 berries of the common ink-weed, and that the nest is 

 sometimes placed 'in the centre of a bird's nest fern 

 or the crown of a fcni-ti'ee. 



The London Zoological Society purchased two 

 exiamples of this pigeon in 1874; the Amsterdam 

 Gardens possessed it as early ac- 1855. 



DoREY Cuckoo-Pigeon (Macropi/gia ilureya). 



Above chestnut-brown ; nape and upper mantle bright 

 metallic green, more or less shot with purple ; three 

 outer tail-feathers cinnainon with a sub-terminal 

 blackish band ; head vinous, crowTi and back of head 

 .=omewhat greyish ; front of head and throat pale rufous ; 

 breast rich vinacso-us shot with purple, with twcv 

 blackish bars across each feather, shading into tawny 

 buif on the abdomen and deepening to cinnamon on the 

 vent and under tail-coverts ; under wing-covert«, axil- 

 liU'ies and tibial feathers chestnut ; bill dai'k ; feet nxk. 

 Female above chestnut-brown, the feathers being brown 

 tipped with chestnut, broadly on the wing-coverts ; napa 

 and mantle paler, barred with dark metallic green and 

 rufous : head reddish che.-tnut ; under surface rufous- 

 very faintly Irii-red and freckled, especaally on the 

 brea-l. di'r|i -nin^ to cinnamon on the flanks, vent, and 

 uii:! -I t III . i\.-its. Hab., "New Gainea, with the sur- 

 sou.uiliiig Xuith-western Islande' — Waigiou, Guebeh, 

 Eataiita, Salawatty, Mysol, Mysori, and Jobi, and also 

 Aru Islands." (Salvadori.) 



I have found no notes respecting the wild life of this 

 sp-eciee Three examples reached the London Zoolo- 

 gical Gardens in July, 1908. 



The sub-family Ertnpi.ftiiuv contains only a single 

 species. 



Passexgeh, Pigeon {Eclupigtcs migralorhis). 



Upper surface bluish-gi-ey, paler on the rump ; back 

 and sides of neck metallic golden and' lilacine violaceous ; 

 scajralars, tertials, and median wing-coverts with about 

 twenty-five velvety black spots ; flights brownish-black 

 edged with greyish ; the inner primaries grey at the 

 base of outer web ; central tail-feathers dark grey, the 

 others pearl grey, with a patch of cinnamon followed by 

 a black spot at base of inner web, their extremities 

 nearly white ; chin whitish-grey ; throat and breast 

 cinnamon-reddish, changing to pale vinous on sides and 

 abdomen ; flanks pale grey ; vent and under tail-coverts 



