2i 3 2 PIGEONS AND SAND GROUSE 



Indo-Chinese countries resembles Vinago in having the feathers on the legs 

 yellow, but is distinguished by the first three flight feathers being pointed. The 

 nest is roughly made of sticks, and is usually situated rather high up in a mango 

 tree. 



The next genus (Osmotreron) contains seventeen species, inhabiting South- 

 eastern Asia and the Malay Archipelago, and distinguished by having the feathers 

 on the legs of a greenish or whitish color. Of its members we may mention the 

 gray-fronted green pigeon (O. malabarica) , which, like its allies, closely resembles 

 the thick-billed species in its habits and mode of life. In the male the upper part of 

 the head is gray shading into olive green on the back of the neck, the upper part of 

 the back maroon, and the rest of the upper parts and middle tail feathers olive 

 green; the lateral tail feathers gray, with a black band across the middle; the quills 

 and wing coverts black, the latter edged with yellow, and the under parts olive 

 yellow. The female has the upper part of the back olive colored. 



In the three remaining genera the sheath of the upper mandible reaches the 

 feathers of the forehead. The typical genus, Treron, includes only two species 

 inhabiting Southeastern Asia. Both these birds have the third flight feather 

 deeply scooped about the middle of the inner web; the thick-billed green pigeon ( T. 

 nipalensis) being distinguished by having the gray color of the cap darker, and not 

 extending over the upper part of the cheeks. The latter inhabits the Southeastern 

 Himalayas, extending to the Malay Peninsula; and is very common in Tenasserim, 

 where it occurs in moderately-large flocks, feeding on small fruits. They feed in 

 the morning and evening, and are noisy and quarrelsome. Their flight is rapid, and 

 they frequent dense forest, thin tree jungle, and even gardens, breeding in February 

 and March, the nests being flimsy little platforms of straw placed about ten feet 

 above the ground. In the Philippine Phabotreron the five species are peculiar in 

 having the general color of their plumage chocolate brown; P. amethystine, being a 

 handsome bird with the hind-neck of a beautiful amethyst color, and the upper 

 parts with bronze reflections. 



The second group of the family are the painted pigeons, which in- 

 Painted clude a numbero f small brilliantly -colored species, with their plumage 

 generally variegated with patches of different colors, many of them be- 

 ing birds of surpassing beauty. They may be distinguished from the last group of 

 green pigeons by the more slender bill, which is not very distensible at the base; 

 and in this respect, as well as in their smaller size, they differ from the true fruit 

 pigeons described below. Of the five genera, by far the largest and most important 

 is Ptilopus, which contains no less than seventy species, inhabiting a wide range 

 from the Malay Peninsula to Australia and Polynesia. The numerous species have 

 been arranged under twelve subgeneric groups, the first eight of which are dis- 

 tinguished by having the first flight feather abruptly attenuated at the extremity, 

 the only exception being one species. The subgenus, Lcucotreron, is characterized 

 by having no defined cap on the upper part of the head and by the tail being rather 

 long. As an example, we may mention P. occipitalis of the Philippine islands, in 

 which the upper part of the head is gray, the cheeks and back of the head purple 

 red, the back of the neck and the rest of the upper parts bronze green, with a gray 



