204 PERISTERA 



trees or shrubs to roost. Their flight is generally 

 low, of short continuance, and by quick repeated 

 strokes of the wings. Many make their nest upon 

 the ground, others upon low bushes ; and it is be- 

 lieved that all lay but two eggs each hatching, in 

 which respect they resemble the more Typical Pi- 

 geons. 



Their generic characters are as follows : Bill 

 slender, the tip of the upper mandible slightly de- 

 flected, with a distinct emargination. Wings round- 

 ed, concave, the first quill short, and, in some in- 

 stances, abruptly attenuated ; third and fourth fea- 

 thers the longest, and nearly equal ; exterior webs 

 of the second, third, and fourth quills deeply sinua- 

 ted. Legs, the tarsus as long as or longer than the 

 middle toe, the front covered with a row of large 

 imbricated scales, the sides and hinder part naked. 

 Toes entirely divided, the inner toe longer than the 

 outer. Claws moderately arched, blunt. Tail slight- 

 ly rounded. 



The first we have to notice is rather an aberrant 

 form of the group, and appears to be one of the con- 

 necting links which more immediately unites it with 

 the turtles ; it is the 



