10 



edges are very obscure) ; entire head dark chestnut brown, a little lighter 

 on forehead, the occiput and nape dark; entire side of head below and 

 behind eye of same shade as forehead ; the chin and upper throat light 

 chestnut, restricted laterally by dark sides of face; rest of lower parts 

 dark chestnut brown, minutely vermiculated with black, which is 

 heaviest on breast, where the black tends to form crescent marks; sides 

 of neck and top of head also finely vermiculated. Abdomen, under 

 tail coverts, and axillaries uniform dark chestnut (in one specimen the 

 black specks and vermiculations extend onto abdomen and under tail 

 coverts) ; breast and abdomen with a vinous wash; lining of wing dark 

 chestnut mixed with blackish brown. Upper breast, sides of neck, and 

 hind neck metallic green when held toward the light, metallic purple 

 when held away from the light. Wings uniform blackish brown above; 

 below the first three primaries arc without chestnut margins; the inner- 

 most primaries are narrowly margined with chestnut on basal half. 

 From above the short outer pair of tail feathers chestnut, with a wide 

 blackish bar near tip; second pair mostly blackish with a wide diagonal 

 chestnut bar about. 2 inches from tip; remaining feathers blackish 

 brown. Bill brown with reddish base; legs dark reddish brown, nails 

 brown ; irides of three rings, outer crimson, middle black, inner straw. 

 Total length, 16.25 inches; wing, 7.78; tail, 7.80; cuimen, 0.70; tar- 

 sus, 0.94. 



Type of female. — No. 3714, Philippine Museum Collection. Calayan 

 Island, October 23, 1903. Collected by R. C. McGregor and A. Celestino. 



Description. — Eesembles the male, but feathers of lower throat exten- 

 sively black with chestnut tips; just posterior of the light chin spot 

 the feathers are almost solid black, some having chestnut bases and 

 others chestnut tips; the sides of neck are blackish with small chestnut 

 specks on feathers, behind ear coverts forming irregular bars. No metal- 

 lic gloss below and much restricted above where it is mostly green, only 

 a faint trace of purple being detected. Colors of bill, legs, and eves 

 as in male. Total length, 16 inches; wing, 7.70; tail, 7.68; cuimen, 

 0.70; tarsus, 0.85. 



The present species seems to be one of the darkest forms yet described. 

 It is larger and darker than tenuirosiris of the Philippines, which is 

 said to have the tail much darker chestnut brown than the allied phasectr 

 nella (Australia) and emiliana (Java, North Borneo, Lombok). it 

 certainly does not approach the wide ranging ruficeps (Java, Sumatra, 

 Borneo, and Malay Peninsula), which has the wing only 5.5—5.8 inches. 

 (Cat. Bds., Vol. XXI, p. 347.) 



The species is rather abundant on Calayan, and its habits do not 

 differ from those of M. tenuirosiris. Like Sphenocercus, it was feeding 

 on tree fruits when we reached the island in September, but a typhoon 

 during the latter part of October cut down most of the higher fruiting 

 branches with their protecting foliage and both these species of doves 



