THE GROUND PIGEONS 2151 



times it is indifferent. It flies to water at sunset, when, like the bronze wing, it 

 only wets the bill; and it seems astonishing that so small a quantity of water should 

 suffice to quench its thirst in the burning deserts it inhabits. 



If we omit the white-quilled rock dove {Petrophassa albipennis}, 



having the general plumage almost uniform dark brown, and the 

 bases of the primaries white, and inhabiting the sterile districts of Northwestern 

 Australia, we come to two species forming the genus Geophaps, which, in addition 

 to the characteristics already mentioned, has the bill rather stout. The penciled 

 bronze- winged dove (G. scripta} has the top of the head, upper parts, and chest 

 light brown; the tips of the upper wing coverts being paler, and the inner ones 

 ornamented with patches of metallic greenish purple, the cheeks, ear coverts, and 

 throat white bordered by a black band in front of the eye, a second black band 

 being on the cheek, while a third passes above the eye, the rest of the under parts 

 being gray, shading into fawn color, the quills brown edged with pale rufous, and 

 the tail reddish brown, with the outer feathers tipped with black. This bird in- 

 habits the plains, being most abundant in the neighborhood of water, and is some- 

 times observed in pairs, but more frequently in small flocks of from four to six. 

 When approached, instead of taking flight, it runs off rapidly in an opposite direc- 

 tion, and crouching down, either on the bare plains or among the scanty herbage, 

 remains till all but trodden on. When it rises, its flight is rapid, and accompanied 

 by a loud whirring noise of the wings. No nest is made, the two eggs being de- 

 posited on the bare ground, and the young are able to run when no larger than 

 quails. 



The last two genera of the bronzed-winged doves are distinguished 



by having the head crested, while they differ from one another in the 

 Wing shape of the tail feathers, which are short and nearly even in Lophop- 



haps, and in Ocyphaps long, the middle pair being longer than the 

 outer. Of the former, three Australian species are known, all with the general 

 color cinnamon, the innermost secondaries with metallic bronze-purple spots, the 

 cheeks and throat white, the throat having a black band down the middle, com- 

 mencing on the chin and joining the gorget, which is similarly colored, the breast 

 having a gray band across it. Writing of the plumed bronze-winged dove (L. 

 plumifera), of Northwestern Australia, Sturt says it was generally seen perched on 

 some rock, basking with pleasure in the heat of the sun, and was exceedingly wild, 

 taking flight at the slightest noise. 



The crested bronze- winged dove ( Ocyphaps kphotes} , represented on 



the left side of the figure on p. 2150, is the only representative of the 



last genus, and is a native of the interior of North and East Australia. 



Its crest is black, the head and under parts gray, the sides of the neck 

 and breast pinkish-salmon color, the back and rump olive gray, and the upper tail 

 coverts grayish brown, edged with white. The smaller wing coverts are grayish 

 buff, banded with black, the greater coverts and secondaries edged with white, and 

 mostly ornamented with metallic green and purple. The primaries are grayish 

 black, the middle tail feathers brown, and the outer pairs brownish black, glossed 

 on their outer webs with green, blue, and purple. Gould says this dove " fre- 



