246 NATURAL HISTORY OF JURDS. 



of the eastern ari'liipehigo. The back anil wings arc oinerald green glossed with 

 golil ; two ilusky and two grayish bars cross tiic liack and runiji, and a white bar on 

 shoulder of tlie wing. Beneath the body is vinaceous red-brown, with ashy under 

 tail-coverts. This beautiful species feeds u])on tlic ground, walks with a rapid gait, 

 and is seen usually alone. Another very beautiful sj)ocies of this genus is the C. 

 stephani from Celebes and the Pajiuan Islands. 



Tlie genus I'etropkussu contains a singular species, 7'. albipennis, an inhabitant 

 of the rugged and desolate portions of the coast of nortliwest Australia, where it is 

 common among the sandstone clilTs. It is a brown binl with black lores, and the 

 basal half of the |)rimaries pure white. Another genus with a single species is 

 Ocijphaps, 0. lophotes, also confined to Australia. It is a binl of much elegance 

 of form, with a long slender black crest flowing from the occiput. Its dress is gray 

 and olive-brown, with sliining lironzy-green wing-coverts. Tail of fourteen feathers, 

 the two centre ones brown, remainder brown, glossed with green and tipped with 

 white. It dwells on the plains of the interior, assembles in very large flocks, and flies 

 with a raj)idity uneijualled by any memljcr of the group to which it belongs. 



South Africa presents us with another genus Ti/mpaitistria, having but one 

 species, the 7'. bicolor. This is a very ]>retty bird with fuscous-brown b.iek and wings 

 anil white under parts. It is confined chiefly to the forest districts, and appears to 

 have certain ])Owers of ventriloquism, throwing its voice to a distance so as to deceive 

 the hunter who may be standing under the very tree uj)on which the bird is perched. 

 Another African genus is Chalcopdia with three species, the best known of which is 

 probably C. afra. They are ])retty little birds, the sj)ecies just named being of a 

 beautiful vinaceous color on the breast and lower j)arts, and with some large brilliant 

 purple and green spots on the wings. It is common on the Okovango River, where it 

 constructs a nest of a few sticks placed in a bush or low tree, and so loosely put to- 

 gether that the two white eggs may bo seen through the structure by any one looking 

 \x\t from below. 



ILiphyjyelia was established for three or four s])ecies, two from Africa, and one 

 from St. Thomas and Prince's Islatid respectively. The African l)irds II. luuata and 

 If. broiizina are beautiful species with considerable metallic gloss of green and copper 

 upon the j)lumage. They aiii)arently prefer to keep in forests, feeding on berries, and 

 are not uncommon. The bird from St. Thomas (//. si)iij>lex), as its name im|ilies, 

 h.as not so highly colored a ])luniage as its relatives. By .some authors these birds 

 are included in the genus I'eristera. 



We now come to a well-marked Central and South American genus with a few 

 offshoots aniong the islands of the West Indies, viz., (ieotn/f/on, with a little over a 

 dozen species. Tiiey have a very stout form with a short rounded wing, the third 

 quill longest, the others abruptly sinuated on the outer edge; the first quill sickle- 

 shaped but not .attenuated. These birds are from nine to twelve inches in lens^fh, of 

 a very attractive and harmonious jilumage, and excellent as food. In the island of 

 Jamaica there are two sjiecies, known as ' mountain witch,' and ' partridge-dove.' They 

 are essentially ground birds, feeding on seeds and occasionally on slugs. They fre- 

 quent wooded ]iarts of the country, and are wary and ditticult to approach. In cer- 

 tain districts they are abundant, and the nest is a rude affair of a few dry leaves and 

 twigs gathered together. Two beautiful species of this genus are G. veragxiensis and 

 G. lawrencei from Central America. 



Leptoptila is another genus of about a dozen species, whose members have nearly 



