TURTUR. 513 



tipped with rufous ; lower breast vinous, becoming albescent or ashy white on 

 the middle of the belly, and pure white on the vent and under tail coverts ; 

 flanks and under wing coverts bluish ash. Bill brown, vinous on the basal 

 half ; irides orange ; legs vinous red. 



Length. 14 to i4'S inches; tail 5*5 ; wing 8; tarsus Pi; bill from 

 gape PI. 



Hab. The Himalayas from Afghanistan to Sikkim at elevations of from 

 4,000 to 8,000 feet, also the Central Provinces, Central India, the N.-W. Pro- 

 vinces, and Nepaul. Breeds on the lower ranges of the Himalayas during May 

 and June. At Mussooree and Murree it is said to lay in May two pure white 

 eggs, which Hume adds are glossy and regular ovals, varying in length from 

 i *i to 1-34, and in breadth from 0^85 to I. 



1169. Turtur meena (Sykes), Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 476, No. 793 ; 



Hume, Nests and Eggs p. 501 ; id., Sir. F. iii. p. 163 ; BL B. Burm. 

 p. 146; Hume and Dav., Sir. F. vi. p. 420; Hume, Sir. F. viii. p. iiO; 

 Scull)', Sir. F. viii. p. 340; Oates, Sir. F. x. p. 235; id., B. Br. Burm. ii. 

 p. 292. Columba meena, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 140. Turtur rupicolus 

 (Pall.), Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 476, No. 792. The RUFOUS TURTLE DOVE. 



Forehead, crown, nape, hind neck and back ashy brown, suffused with 

 vinous, and the feathers indistinctly edged with rufous ; a patch on the neck 

 black with greyish tips ; lower back and rump dark ashy, edged paler ; upper 

 tail coverts brown, edged with pale rufous ; scapulars, tertiaries, lesser and 

 median coverts brown, broadly edged with rufous ; greater coverts and secon- 

 daries edged with ashy, the innermost ones edged with rufous ; primaries 

 dark brown edged with rufous ; lower plumage vinous red, tinged with purplish 

 in some, paler on the chin and throat ; sides of the body, under wing coverts, 

 vent and under tail coverts ashy ; central tail feathers ashy brown, the others 

 ashy brown, tipped with grey (Gates') ; bill brown, with a tinge of ashy on the 

 basal half ; iris orange-red ; legs vinous red. 



Length 13 inches ; tail 5 ; wing 7; tarsus ri ; bill from gape I. 



Hab. The Himalayas to Nepaul and Ceylon. It is a permanent resident of 

 the hilly portions of Southern India, and of the broken belt of hills that stretch 

 across the continent of India from the northern portions of the Western Ghauts 

 to Cuttack ; thence it extends into Eastern Bengal, Khasia hills, Cachar, 

 Assam and along the bases of the Himalayas as far west as the Sikkim and 

 Nepaul Terais, and again southwards into Arrakan, Pegu and Northern 

 Tenasserim. (Hume.) Breeds from December to April, but the majority lay in 

 March, April and May. The number of eggs is two, and like all doves, pure 

 glossy white. 



1170. Turtur senegalensis (Linn), Lev. 0. A. t. 270; Tem. Pig., 



t. 45; id., Descr. Egypt, t. 9, 3; Gray, Handlist Birds, No. 9317; Blf., 

 VOL. II. 67 



