COLUMBIDAE 343 



very stout bill uiul long graduated rectrices lie i it/war dtoenas rcin- 

 vjardti, ranging from Celebes to Papuasia, and B. hrowni, of the 

 Duke of York Island and New Britain. In the two last-named the 

 head is grey, the under parts are white, and the naked orl)its red, 

 the former having the back chestnut, the latter black. Closely 

 allied are the two dozen Pheasant-like members of Mrtrropt/ffia, 

 with elongated wedge-shaped tails, from the Indian and Australian 

 Regions, which have rich chestnut, pui'plish-brown, or cinnamon 

 plumage, with darker shading and iridescent sheen, chiefly con- 

 lined to the upper surface. The head is usually lighter, the under 

 parts are often buff or vinaceous, and the irides parti-coloured ; the 

 naked orbits vary in tint. Inliabiting bushy country or hills up to 

 about eight thousand feet, they fly but short distances, feeding upon 

 the ground on seeds and berries, and uttering a loud monotonous 

 note. JL titscdia, the Cuckoo-Dove, occurs from North India to 

 West China ; M. leptourahimica inhabits the Malay Countries ; 

 several other species carry the range to the Moluccas ; M. tenul- 

 rostris occupies the Philippine and Sulu Islands ; J/, jj/uisianella 

 the eastern half of Australia ; M. dorcya and so fortli New Guinea 

 and its islands; M. rufa the New Hebrides; 21. rufo-castanea the 

 Solomons. The two last-named have bifurcated breast-feathers. 



Turacoena moiudensts, of Celebes, the Togian and Sula Islands, 

 is slate-black with golden-green occiput, neck, and breast, white 

 face and throat, and naked red orbits ; T. modesta, of Timor, has 

 the orbits yellow, and lacks the white. Turturoena delegoryii, of 

 Natal, is slaty-black, with a chestnut mantle surmounted by a 

 white band, lilac and green reflexions on the occiput, neck, and 

 chest, vinous under parts, and bare pink orbits. The female is 

 brownish-grey, having a cinnamon head and nape glossed with 

 green, but no white collar. T. sharpii, of East Equatorial Africa, 

 differs in its green crown and nuchal region ; T. iriditorqucs, found 

 from the Gaboon to Liberia, lacks the white band, and has the 

 lateral rectrices tipped with buff; Nesoenas mayeri, of Mauritius, 

 is reddish-brown, witli pink head, neck, and lower surface. 



The cosmopolitan genus Coluviba contains nearly sixty 

 members, of which comparatively few inhabit the Palaearctic 

 and Nearctic Eegions ; the general coloration is blue, relieved by 

 black and rufous, or a metallic red and green sheen. Want of space 

 forbids a description of every form, and the following are in no 

 definite order: but C. i^cdumlvs, C. laurirora, C. hollii, C. trocaz, 



