BRONZE-WINGED PIGEONS. 



289 



numerous specimens have been added to the collection 

 by presentation, exchange, deiK)sit, and repeated breed- 

 ing. On ilay 1, 1907, I and other members of the 

 Avicultural Society accompanied the Editor of the 

 iSociety'.-i Mii^azine to the Southern Pheasantry of the 

 Zoological Snciety's Gardens to witness the liberation 

 of .1 numl>er of foreign Doves with a view to their 

 aoclimati.sation in Regent's Park. On that day eleven 

 Crested Pigeons, four Bronze-wings, three Half-collaired 

 Turtle-Doves, four Xecklaced and one Senegal Dove 

 were set free, and others were liberated ten days later ; 

 so far as I have heard, there is no evidence that the 

 Bronze-wings nested at liberty, though the Crested 

 Pigeons and some of the Doves did ; indeed, I saw one 

 or two nests myself later on. Some of the birds made 

 their way to the Botanical Gardens. 



Brush Bronze-winged Pigeon {I'/tapf ekgans). 



Hind neck and upper back chestnut ; scapulars, lower 

 bark, rump, .ind upper tail-coverts olivaceous-grey; 

 u|)]HM- wing-coverts also olivaceous-giey, but the smaller- 

 and outer ones tinged with chestnut, the innermost 

 inc-dian and greater coverts metallic green on outer webs 

 and broadly tipped with grey ; the metallic patches on 

 the median coverts shot with copper and the innermost 

 of those on the greater coverts with steel blue ; flights 

 brown, cinnamon at base of inner webs ; the primaries 

 with the base of outer webs edged with the same colour ; 

 central tail-feathers olivaceous-grey, the next two paii's 

 brownish-chestnut towards the Ijase, the remaining pairs 

 grey ; all the lateral tail-feathers with a subterminal 

 blackish band and greyish-brown tips ; forehead ochre- 

 yellow : crown and back of head grey ; a broad chestnut 

 stripe from back of eye round back of head ; a black 

 loral line ; upper cheeks and upper ear-coverts whitish ; 

 lower cheeks and under surface of body olivaceous-grey, 

 ' becoming greyish-brown on tibial feathers and vent ; a 

 -triangular chestnut spot on the throat ; under winc- 

 coverts cinnamon ; feet bright lake-red ; irides dark 

 brown. Female duller throughout and with the fore- 

 head much less buff ; decidedly paler than in the male. 

 Gould saj-s of this bird ("' Handbook," Vol. II., pp. 125, 



126) : " It affects the most scrulbiby localities, giviiag 

 preference to such as are lo'W and swampy ; and I ha/ve 

 never seen it percli on the branches of trees. 

 When flushed it rises very quickly, with a loud 

 burring noise similar to that made by the rising 

 of ■■! Partridge. The shortness of its wings and 

 tail, and the extreme depth of its spectoral 

 muscle, render its appearance more plump and 

 round than that of the generality of Pigeons. It is 

 a very difficult bird to shoot, from its inhabiting 

 the denser part.^ of the scrub, from which it is 

 not easily driven. It flies but little, rarely for 

 a greater distance than to cross a gully or toj) 

 a ridge before it again abruptly descends into 

 the scrub. 



" It.s food consist's of seeds and berries of 

 various kinds, particularly in Tasunania of a 

 plant there called Boobyaller. 



■■ I believe it never niigi'atos, but merely re- 

 moves from one locality to another, as food may 

 be more or less abundant. 



" Its note, more lengthened than that of the 

 Common Bronze-wing, is a low and mournful 

 strain, and is more often repeated towards the 

 close of the evening than at any other time." 



" In Western Australia it has been observed to 



breed sometimes on the gi-ound, and in a fork of 



the Xanthiirrhiva or grass tree ; the nest being 



formed of a few s-mall sticks, and the eggs, as usual, 



being white and two jn number, fifteen lines long by 



eleven lines broad." 



Mr. D. Seth-Smith secured three exiamples of this 

 Pigeon from a Liondoin ibird-dealer in Jianuiary, 1904, 

 and 0. pair went to nest in his a.viajries almost imme- 

 diately, the firist egg being laiid ten da-ys aifter thedr 

 arrival ; one young one was halbched in FeibTuary, bult 

 wias moit reared. The birds ne.=ted ajgiain, ami two yo'ung 

 were nearly reared when the parents begam to build a 

 third time, and negleoted the nestilimgs, one of which 

 conseqiuenltly died, but the either was reared. The hen 

 was then paired up with the second cock in a suitabde 

 outdoor aviary, and cm April 26th the first egg was 

 laid, another being laiid the nexit da-y ; both younig fleiw 

 on June 3rd. 



In an aviat-y this species roosts on trees quite as much 

 as the commoner Bix).nze-iwiing ; its usual nesting season 

 is from Ootolber to Jaara'ary in its own countTT. 

 Although a nice species to breed, and not frequently 

 imported, there is no great demand for the young birds. 

 The Brush Bronze-winged Pigeon reached tlhj 

 Amsterdam Zoological Gardens in 1857, the Ix>ndioa< 

 (hardens in 1881, and the Berlin Gardens in 1893. 



Harlequin Beonze-winged Pigeon (Histriophaps 



histrlonica). 

 Upper surface cinnamon brown ; the maiginaj wing- 

 coverts blnish-igirey ; edge of wing white ; bastard-'wiing. 

 primary covei^s. and primaries grey tipped with wbilte. 

 the latter tinged with pale brown on outer webs anid 

 with the basaj part of inner weibs cinnamon ; inner 

 secondaries with a paitch of meltaUic puaple on outer 

 welbs ; tlie two last also with a white subterminal spot : 

 lateral tail -Heathers bluish-grey at base, becoming Mack 

 towards extremity, which is white ; forehead, a stripe 

 from back of eve eneircling the ear-coverts, and a 

 gorget snow-white ; rest of head, tliroat, and ear-coverts 

 jet-black ; breasit and abdomen bluish-grey ; under tail- 

 coverts grev at base, pale buflf at t.ip : under wing- 

 coverts bluish-grey ; ibdiU hiack ; feet lilacine-red in fxonit, 

 flesh-red behind ; irides dark brown : naked orbital 

 skin purplish-black. Female without white on the fore- 



