PIN-TAILED GREEN PIGEON 77 
of the Green Pigeons and the Paroquets when climbing about a tree. 
In this particular Pigeon the likeness is further heightened by the 
long tail, and really it is often, for a few moments, difficult to tell 
which kind of bird one is watching until the discordant scream of 
the Parrot or the mellow whistling of the Pigeon gives away their 
identity. 
The Pigeon climbs about the branches with head tucked in close 
to the branch, and his long tail also held close to it, just as a Palaeornis 
holds his and, in the same way, if the Pigeon reaches over to clutch at 
some tempting morsel a few inches away, up goes his tail to balance him, 
and is then held rigid and somewhat erect until the balance is restored. 
His foot-work, too, is quite similar to that of the Parrot, a slow and 
rather stolid manner of working up and down the branches, step by 
step, without hurry or flutter of wing. One point of difference, 
however, always exists, and that is the Parrot never proceeds far 
without using his bill to assist his legs, whereas never, as far as I have 
been able to make out, does the Pigeon use his bill for the purpose. 
But even this requires close watching to detect, for the Pigeon holds 
his head tucked in so close to the branch that it often looks as if he too 
was employing his bill as an additional “ hand.” Harington seems 
to have been deceived by the attitudes assumed by the Pin-tailed Pigeon 
in climbing, for he says: “It also has the regular parrot-like habit 
of using its bill for climbing up branches.” Personally, however, I have 
never seen the bill so used, either by wild birds or by those in captivity, 
nor is the Pigeon’s bill formed for such work, and it is possible that 
this accurate and close observer has on this point been mistaken. 
The notes of the Pin-tailed Green Pigeon run through much the 
same range of sounds as the rest of the tribe; in anger the guttural 
notes are used, whilst its beautiful whistling-notes to me seem as mellow 
and sweet as those even of the Orange-breasted bird. It has, however, 
some additional notes not often, if ever, uttered by any other Green 
Pigeon, except its first cousin sphenurus, the Wedge-tailed Green 
Pigeon. Harington describes these notes as “something like the 
subdued chattering of monkeys.” 
Its flight is quite typical of the family, but is, perhaps, the least 
swift of all the Green Pigeons, and at the same time rather more direct 
and steady even when the bird has been fired at and. frightened. 
I have never personally made a big bag solely of these Green 
