129 



DOUBLE-CRESTED PIGEON. 



Columba dilopha. TEMMINCK. 



PLATE X. 



Columba dilopha, Temm. in Trans. Linn. Soc. v. 13, p. 124; 

 Id. pi Col pi. 162. Wag. Syst. Av. Sp. 11. 



IN this curious species, besides the occipital crest, 

 an ornament which is found in many other birds, there 

 is an additional one in front, composed of long re- 

 curved and lax feathers, which not only occupy the 

 forehead, but also the superior part of the soft or 

 basal portion of the bill. This double crest gives 

 the head of this pigeon a character unlike any of its 

 congeners, and more resembling that of some of the 

 crested Phasianidse or Cracidae, with which an analo- 

 gical relation is thus sustained. In other respects its 

 characters agree with those of C. spadicea, the pro- 

 portion of the wings and the form of the feet being 

 nearly the same. Temminck, who first described it, 

 observes, " Cette nouvelle espece a le plus de rap- 

 ports dans toutes ses formes, avec la Columba spadi- 

 cea, et toutes les deux sont tres peu differentes de 

 notre Ramier d'Europe." In the concluding obser- 

 vation, we cannot concur to the extent implied by 



\OL. IX. I 



