TYPICAL PIGEONS 



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nutmeg being disgorged. Another closely -allied species, the Nicobar nutmeg pi- 

 geon (C. insularis), of the islands from whence it derives its name, differs in having 

 the under tail coverts mixed with dark green. In the Nicobars it occurs singly, in 

 pairs, or in small parties, and its deep low coo may be heard all day resounding 

 through the forest. It breeds in February and March, and its nest has been found 

 in a cocoanut palm about twenty feet from the ground, and contained one large 

 white egg. The members of the genus Myristirivora may be distinguished from 

 those previously mentioned by their white and black plumage. The white nutmeg 

 pigeon (M. bicolor) is a handsome species found in the Philippine islands, the Ma- 

 lay Archipelago, and the Andaman and Nicobar islands. Both sexes have the en- 



NUTMEG PIGEON. 



tire plumage of a pale creamy white, except the flight feathers, the tip of the tail, 

 and some spots on the under tail coverts, which are black. This bird is not so gen- 

 erally distributed throughout the Nicobars as the nutmeg pigeon, and, though oc- 

 casionally found some distance in the forest, keeps in general to the mangrove 

 swamps, but on islands such as Treis and Track, where there is little or no man- 

 grove, it occurs everywhere. Lophol&mus antarcticus, found in Eastern Australia, 

 is easily recognized by being the only crested species of fruit pigeon, and is the sole 

 representative of its genus. The last genus, Hemiphaga, contains three species 

 belonging to New Zealand and adjacent islands, and differs from the six genera 

 already mentioned in having only twelve tail feathers. 



