2146 PIGEONS AND SAND GROUSE 



the plumage of the upper parts being more or less reddish, and the rump bluish 

 gray. The subfamily Gcopeliince contains three genera, with a few small species 

 from both the Old and New Worlds, and is characterized by the short rounded wings, 

 a rather long tail of fourteen feathers, and no metallic tint on the sides of the neck 

 or elsewhere. The Old- World forms belong to the typical Geopelia, ranging from 

 Burma to Australia, and have the first quill feather pointed at the extremity. The 

 American genus, Scardafella, includes two doves about the size of sparrows, with 

 the first flight feathers normal, and the tail of twelve feathers; the Inca dove (S. 

 inca) from Southwestern, North, and Central America being a well-known example. 

 But a single species ( Gymnopelia erythrothorax} is included in the last genus dis- 

 tinguished by the large naked patch surrounding the eye. 



The six American genera of the subfamily Peristerince are charac- 

 terized bv their small size and the general uniform coloration of the 

 Genera 



plumage; the wings being, as a rule, ornamented with metallic spots, 



and rather short and rounded, while the primaries are not much longer than the 

 secondaries. In five genera the tail is rather longer than half the length of the 

 wing; while the two last may be distinguished by having the first primary pointed 

 at its extremity. The picui dove (Columbiila picui) , the only representative of the 

 first genus, is peculiar in having a steel-blue band across the wing, and by the mid- 

 dle and outer pairs of tail feathers being shorter than the intermediate ones. Found 

 only in South America, it is the smallest dove of Argentina where it is a resident, 

 frequenting the neighborhood of houses; and its song, consisting of a succession 

 of long, rather loud, and somewhat monotonous notes, may often be heard in sum- 

 mer or even on warm days in winter. Six small species, ranging from the South- 

 ern United States to South America, represent the second genus (Chamcepelia) , 

 which has a tail shorter than the length of the wing and rounded at the extremity, 

 the middle feathers being longer than the outer ones. The remaining genera may 

 be passed over without notice. 



The South-African cinnamon dove {Haplopelia larvata) may be 

 taken as a well-known representative of another subfamily of ground 

 doves ( Geotrygoninte) , which contains more than seventy species of 

 somewhat partridge-like birds with no well-defined metallic spots or bands, although 

 a violet patch may be present near the bend of the wing. The metatarsus is stout 

 and longer than the third toe, and in the short and rounded wings the primaries 

 exceed the secondaries in length. Of the nine recognized genera, the one above 

 mentioned, which has six African species, is characterized by the primary feathers 

 being broad and not tapering to a point, while in the remaining eight they are nar- 

 row and more or less pointed. The cinnamon dove is distinguished from its allies 

 by having the forehead white, the top of the head, hind-neck, chest, and upper 

 breast metallic coppery purple, the back and wings olive brown, and the abdomen 

 and under tail coverts pale cinnamon. The Zamoen Duif, as the colonists call this 

 bird, is common in the dense bush along the coast of Natal, where its brown coloring 

 renders it difficult to detect as it sits motionless among the dense creepers. It never 

 appears in the open, and is generally to be seen on the ground beneath the trees, 

 silently and busily searching for food. Of the remaining genera with narrow pri- 



