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PIGEONS AND SAND GROUSE 



differing from the rest by the swollen fleshy knob at the base of the upper mandi- 

 ble. Passing over a peculiar form (Serreszus) from the Marquesas, in which the 

 basal half of the bill is covered with a saddle-shaped production of the skin of the 

 forehead, we come to the typical genus Carpophaga, which may be divided into six 

 subgenera, founded on the general color of the plumage, and the shape of the flight 

 feathers. It will be sufficient to mention one or two species in which the general 



MADAGASCAR WART PIGEONS. 



(Two-fifths natural size.) 



color is mostly metallic on the upper parts, the tail uniform in color, and the flight 

 feathers normal in shape. In the nutmeg pigeon (C. cznea) , common in the Indo- 

 Burmese countries, Ceylon, and the Andamans, the head, neck, and under parts of 

 the body are gray, the upper parts bronze green, and the under tail coverts deep 

 chestnut. This bird keeps to the larger forest trees, and lives on fruit, especially 

 the wild nutmeg, which it swallows whole, although only the mace is digested, the 



