TRIANGULAR SPOTTED PIGEOX. 213 



These birds, in fact, associate in large bands, and 

 attack the crops of grain on all sides, which they 

 only leave on retiring to roost in the woods or rocks. 



It is almost impossible to give a good idea, by 

 words, of the inharmonious, we had almost said the 

 disagreeable, colouring of this species, and it would 

 be equally difficult to do so by the pencil. The 

 head, body beneath from the breast, outer half of 

 the wings, edges of the quills, and the tail-covers, 

 are all lead-colour or cinereous, while the back part 

 of the neck, the scapulars, back, and basal half of 

 the wings are vinaceous or brownish rufous ; these 

 are the two ground colours ; the lower part of the 

 back is very light plumbeus, almost white. Each of 

 the feathers of the wing-covers, which are near the 

 back, ends in a central and triangular white spot ; 

 the margins of the outer tail-feathers are white nearly 

 to the tip, the rest are plumbeus ; they all have one 

 broad bar at the end, and a very narrow obsolete 

 one in the middle : the feathers of the throat and 

 breast are vinaceous, tipt with whitish lead-colour, 

 with their ends bifid, as if part of the shaft was 

 broken off. Feet large and strong, and dark flesh- 

 colour; bill blackish; orbits large, naked, and 

 crimson. 



Total length, 11^ inches ; bill, from the base, T % ; 

 wings, 8^, and extending half an inch beyond the 

 tail ; middle toe and claw, 1^. 



