BIRDS IN THE CALENDAR 
duty being all the more remarkable from the 
fact that these pigeons of the Antipodes 
usually lay but a single egg. Australia, with 
the neighbouring islands, must be a perfect 
paradise for pigeons, since about half of the 
species known to science occur in that region 
only. The wonga-wonga and bronze-wing 
and great fruit-pigeons are, like the " bald- 
pates " of Jamaica, all favourite birds with 
sportsmen, and some of the birds are far 
more brightly coloured than ours. It is, 
however, noticeable that even the gayest 
Queensland species, with wings shot with 
every prismatic hue, are dull-looking birds 
seen from above, and the late Dr. A. R. 
Wallace regarded this as affording protection 
against keen-eyed hawks on the forage. 
His ingenious theory receives support from 
the well-known fact that hi many of the 
islands, where pigeons are even more plenti- 
ful, but where also hawks are few, the former 
wear bright clothes on their back as well. 
The woodpigeon has many names in rural 
England. That by which it is referred to in 
the foregoing notes is not, perhaps, the most 
satisfactory, since, with the possible ex- 
