348 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 
quills. The hind toe is placed on the same level as the front 
toes, and is well developed ; in those forms which are wholly 
arboreal the soles of the foot are flat and expanded, in the 
species which feed on the ground they are more slender. 
The birds are vegetarian, living mainly on fruit or seeds. 
In most cases the nest is the scantiest platform of twigs 
placed in a tree or bush, but some species nest on rocks. 
The eggs are white or cream-coloured, oval, and usually 
glossy ; they are generally two in number, but some Pigeons 
lay only one. 
Classification within the order is a subject of some difficulty 
and divergence of opinion. The British Museum Catalogue 
recognizes five families, three of which contain genera found 
in India. Blanford, however—followed by Stuart Baker in 
his recent work on the Indian Pigeons and Doves—includes 
all the Indian representatives in one family Columbide, which 
he divides again into six sub-families, stating at the same time 
that the differences between several of these sub-families are 
hardly more than generic, and that he has adopted these 
divisions more from deference to the usual practice than from 
conviction. 
In Ceylon thirteen species of Pigeon have been recorded, 
belonging to four of the six Indian sub-families. Of these 
thirteen, however, five are the merest stragglers, three more 
are local, and only five are common and widely distributed 
throughout the Island. 
The following are the external characteristics by which our 
four sub-families may be distinguished :— 
(1) T'reronine (Green Pigeons). 
Fourteen feathers in the tail ; plumage mainly green, with 
conspicuous yellow bands on the wings ; wing measurement 
not exceeding 8 inches ; in all Ceylon species the inner web of 
the third wing quill is notched. 
(2) Carpophagine (Imperial Pigeons). 
Fourteen feathers in tail ; size large ; wing 8 inches or over ; 
soles of feet flat and expanded ; in Ceylon species the head, 
neck, and lower parts are gray. 
