- — 
GREEN IMPERIAL PIGEON 95 
Jerdon says that they collect in small parties, now and then uniting in 
flocks of twenty or more, but I have found flocks of anything over five or 
six to be very exceptional, and single birds and pairs are seen quite as 
often as flocks. 
Harington, in epistola, writes: “It is very common in Chindwin, 
‘both upper and lower, especially the latter, where at certain seasons it may 
be seen in hundreds, nearly always singly, or in pairs.” 
Legge remarks that ‘“ though very shy when feeding it may easily 
be shot when wending its way across country in flights to drink in the 
morning or to roost in the afternoon. At such times a regular stream of 
these birds will continue to cross a road in the Hastern Province for 
perhaps half an hour together, and they afford very good shooting. It is 
well styled, together with all its genus, Imperial Pigeon, On the wing 
when dashing into a forest glade in the Pasdun Korale or Saffragam, or 
sweeping across an opening in the dense jungle of the Park country, it 
is a splendid bird.” 
Tn eastern Bengal, Assam, and Burma it is seldom that opportunities 
arise for obtaining a bag of these birds alone, but when shooting Pigeon 
flighting to and from their feeding-grounds, a few generally go to form a 
portion of the bag. Colonel Bingham records having bagged over thirty 
of these birds one day in July on the Salwin River, driving them back- 
wards and forwards between a few ficus trees. 
Their flight is very swilt though, unless the birds have been frightened, 
the wing-beats are slow and thus give the impression of leisurely flight. 
As a rule, also, they flight higher than the smaller Green Pigeons do, so 
that often very few come within shot, though a number may pass within 
sight. When starting from a tree or suddenly frightened into diverting 
their course, the wings beat loudly against one another and make a sound 
audible at a great distance. 
They are entirely frugivorous in their diet, and in the eastern and 
northern portion of their habitat resort in large numbers to any species of 
ficus which may be in fruit for the time being. They are also extremely 
partial to all wild-plums, the berries of the ber tree, etc. In Ceylon, 
Legge says that it is ‘ 
(Urostigma religiosum) and. of the Palu or ‘ Iron-wood.’ (Mimusops indica) 
than those of any other trees. In the south-east of Ceylon both these 
trees are to be found growing by themselves among small scrubby jungle 
“perhaps fonder of the berries of the Bo tree 
and towering far above it ; and when in fruit Pigeon flock to them from 
