298 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



cove-rtts being also of this colour ; tail ibelow ash-gr«y ; 

 feet dull crimson ; bill black ; iris plum-coloured. 



The hen is slightdy emaller than the 'cock, hias the 

 forehead less inclined to white, a'ud the cnimeon heart on 

 the biiea&t smaller.* Hialb. , Luzon, Phiilipipine Is'la-nds. 

 I purchased a ,pair of this bird on Aiiguslt lObh, 1897, 

 and turned them out into my dongest covered aviary 

 with numerous small iFinohes. Waxibills, and servenal 

 tiny DoTes. Dr. Russ says that this species is malicious 

 towards (its own kind and all .■imaller ifealtlheced things 

 — a. gross libel upon this Ibe-autifiul bird, for the only 

 thdrig it ever aittack-ed in my aviary was a hen Steel- 

 barred Dove {('olumhula picui). which, having had its 

 wing brcken when on'g-inaliy captured, flew heavily. 

 When pairing, it would indeed dhase oither small doves 

 off the floor, hut it never attacked them on the 

 bramehes, and Finiohes it utterly ignored. After the 

 dea;th of its hen, on October 115th, 1899, it frequenltly 

 squatted down on the earth in the sun with a hen 

 Chinese Quail satting almost under its iwing. 



When shon-iniT off to the hen the Bleeding-heiairtt 

 suddenly steps in its race after her, thrciws back its 

 head, puffs out its ohesit. droops tail and wings, and 

 gives utterance to a numlber of staccato lioos rapidly 

 repeiated. At times, when the hen persn^sitenltilv evaded 

 the cock, he used to Icse his temper, and, like some 

 other Doves, clapped h\s iwings aibove his !tiack, pro- 

 ducing a sharp sound like the crack of a. whip ; this 

 always seemed to alarm the hen. 



I hung up a basikeit-liid high in .the aviary, hoping that 

 my birds would breed — ^they used often to roost there 

 at niglht ; but. although pairing occasionally took place, 

 no eggs were depcsiited. 



Durinio; the idfty, this and citiher speeies of Phlngcenax 

 spend most of their time on the iground, iiacing to and 

 fro with bolbbina head, (but at night the Bleeding -hea'rt. 

 Pigeon roosts as high up as it can get and before 

 settling down lit keeps flying ibacbwards land forwiards 

 between the eaUiih and la branch, until it cs wea.ry. 

 Liike most sttecies of Doves, it is miich alarmeid Iby any 

 form cf ladies' head-gear, and rattles tempestuously 

 albout the avia.ry, to the great terror of the (smaller 

 inhaibitiants. The cock bird died lin Decemher, 19C0, 

 and I have ne\-er purchased others. !Dt first reached the 

 Regent's Park Gardens in 1861. and many others have 

 been puiichased, received in exchange, or presented since 

 that date. In 1887 'five examples were bred in the 

 Gitrdens. 



In The. Avicultural Magazine, Second Semies, Vol. I., 

 pp. 152, 133, iMiss Aldeiraon ipulblished some notes c.n 

 specimens in her collectiion. and publiished an illustra- 

 tion of young in the nest. iShe succesistfully re'ared three 

 out of manv that were hatched. This lady kindly sent 

 me the bodv of one dead young one for mv collection. 

 It has the usual roarred 'chai'aater of many of the Doves. 



B.iRTLETT's Pigeon [PhJogmna^ crinigera). 

 Head, Ibacik and sides of meek, and mantle dark 

 metallic green, 'sihiadinig into punplislh-ichesltnut on the 

 back, scaipu'lairs, rump, and upiper tail-coverts, the 

 featheiis of the latter more or less edged with green or 

 pink : lesser upper w"ing-coverits grey edged with 

 bronze-green ; the rest of the upper coverts hrownish- 

 chestnut broadly tipped with grey, excepting on the 

 median ciiveit*, wihere the tips only show small grey 

 spots; primaries ibromn. secondaries chesitnnt ; ceniti^l 

 tia.il-feathers birawnish-che*nut, lateral feathers grey, 

 with sub-termiinal Mack "belt ; thirwat snow-iwhite ; a 



* M'iei? AldwSOTi sa.vs that the crimson on the breast varies 

 in extent in indiTiidwals apart from sex, and this doubtless is 

 s", but, taking one with another, I believe there is always less 

 of it in the females. 



broad patioh of sitiff, haiir-like, deep red feathers on tihe 

 upper breast ; rest of under -surface buffiiElh-lbrciwn, be- 

 coming paleir on under tail-coverts a.nd almost white 

 on middle of aibdoonen ; bill black ; feet dull carmine ; 

 irides lilac. Feniale smaller ; crown of the head duilesr 

 and darker ; bill more sllender when viewed in profile. 

 Hab., Mindanao, Basilan (and Sulu Island?). 



Very little is reMirded resipecting the wiild life, but 

 Mr. Crooidife'lloiw writes to iMr. Neiwman that they " are 

 by no means oommon in their own counltry. and are. 

 very locally disitributed around the somewhat drier 

 parts of the coasit lands." "They are forest birds, but- 

 do not perch in the trees." ftlr. Newman adds : '"Thciy 

 doubtless rooSt and nest in bushes and low trees at iKt 

 gi^at distance from the ground." 



Four examples of this very beaiAinil Bleeding-lheia-ilt. 

 Pigeon were purchased for the London Zoological 

 Society An 1363, and in 1884, 1865, and 1867 young 

 were fered in the Gtardenis. Dr. Sclatei' describes the- 

 nidi fioat ion as follows ("Proceedings of the Zoolog-iical 

 Society," 1865, p, 239): — "As I have already stated,. 

 four specimens of this beautiful .pigeon were puirchasei 

 by Mr. Bartlett at Liverpool, in August. 1863. In the 

 following sipring the single male paired with one of the 

 three females, and bred five times during the summer 

 of 1864. The ifema'e depos ted only one egg on each 

 occasion, making a very slight nest of small stJoks in 

 a flat Ijiasket placed 8" ft. above the ground in the- 

 Western Aviary. The period of incubation, was fifteen: 

 days. Tiwo of the young birds were successfully reared, 

 and are now in aiult plumage ; two. o.thers died im- 

 miatai.re, and are now in the iBritish M.useum. On the- 

 remaining occasion the egg was addled." 



In 1907 Mr. T. H. Newman purchased a pair (im- 

 ported by iMr. W. Goodfellow) from iXIrs. J'0'hinstoin.e,. 

 and successfully bred a younig one. Unhaippily, he sulb- 

 sequently lost the entire faim.ily. He g.ives a. very com- 

 plete and iuIIyJillustrated account of the species in 

 The Arictiltiiral Maqazine, Second Series, Vol. VH.,. 

 pp. 225-235. 



Stair's Ground-pigeon (Phlogmnas stairi). 



Glossy brown, shot with bronze and purple; back 

 of head and neck dark slate-coloured, shot with green ; 

 back and wings shot with magenta ; lesser upper wing- 

 coverts edged with purple ; flights and tail feathers 

 brown, the laterals deep vinous-grey at base ; forehead, 

 sides of head and neck, and Ibreast vinaceous-rufous,. 

 becoming white .on the throat and roimd the breast ; the 

 breast bounded behind by a deep maroon band ; feathers 

 at sides of brea.st edged with purple ; middle of abdo- 

 men vinaceous bro'wn ; sid'ee. vent, and under tail-coverts; 

 coffee-brown ; under wing-cctverts and base of inner 

 webs of flights cinnamon ; bill black ; feet deep crimson ; 

 irides reddish-browTi. Female smaller, with a shorter 

 bill ; the forehead and breast wholly dull pale chocolate ; 

 back of crown darker; back and wings washed with 

 olive ; abdomen brownish-ash, with no defined broad 

 dark maroon band between it and the breast ; tail paler 

 than in the male, the lateral feathers redder and with 

 a subterminal brown bar. Hab., Fiji and Tonga. Islands. 



Mr.E. L. Layard says ("Proceedings of the Zoological' 

 Society." 1875, p. 438): — " L'nlike any other Pigeon of 

 these islands, it seeks its food entirely on the ground. 

 Here it runs as quickly as a Quail, springs to its wings 

 on the least alarm, and glides through the underwood to 

 a place of .^lafety with the rapidity of lightning. 



" Mr. Kleinschmidt has ke)>t it in captivity for a 

 long period ; but it is so timid that on the approach 

 of anyone to its large cage it instantlv runs into a 

 corner and crouches down, just as a Quail or other gama- 



