COLUMBID^: (ENA 175 



p. 258 (1867) ; Ayres, Ibis, 1871, p. 261 ; Gurney, in Andersson's B. 

 Damaral. p. 235 (1872) ; Buckley, Ibis, 1874, p. 385 ; Shelley, -fbi*, 

 1875, pp. 62, 83 ; Gates, Matabeleland, p. 322 (1881) ; Shelley, Ibis, 

 1882, p. 359; Holab <& Pelzeln, Orn. Sild-Afr. p. 171 (1882); 

 Butler, Feilden and Reid, Zool. 1882, p. 338 ; Shelley, Ibis, 1883, p. 

 328 ; Sharpe, eel. La.yard's B. S. Afr. pp. 572, 854 (1884) ; Symonds, 

 Ibis, 1887, p. 333 ; Salvador i, Cat. B. M. xxi, p. 501 (1893) ; Bryden, 

 Gun and Camera, p. 70 (1893) ; Fled; Journ. Ornith. 1894, p. 389 ; 

 Shelley, B. Afr. i, p. 138 (1896) ; Woodward Bros, and Sharpe, 

 Ibis, 1897, pp. 409, 516 ; Woodward Bros. Natal B. p. 133 (1899) ; 

 Marshall, Ibis, 1900, p. 262 ; Alexander, Ibis, 1900, p. 428 ; 

 Beichenoiv, Vog. Afr. i, p. 429 (1901) ; Haagner, Ibis, 1902, pp. 

 573, 579 ; Whitehead, Ibis, 1903, p. 234 ; Sharpe, Ibis, 1904, p. 7 

 [Deelfontein] . 

 " Namaqua Duif " of the Dutch ; " Igombosa" of Zulus (Woodward). 



Description. Adult Male. Forehead, front of the head, chin, 

 throat and upper breast black ; rest of the head, sides of the neck 

 and most of the wing-coverts mauve-grey ; back, inner part of the 

 wings and rump pale brown ; a patch of metallic peacock blue on 

 the outer web of some of the tertiaries, a double dark brown band 

 across the rump with a dirty white band between ; wing-quills 

 cinnamon edged and tipped with black, upper tail-coverts and tail 

 ashy, the tail largely tipped with black, the outer feathers with an 

 apical edging of white ; the lower breast and abdomen white, the 

 under tail-coverts black ; axillaries black ; under wing-coverts 

 cinnamon. 



Iris brown, bill, base purple, apex orange ; legs purple. Length 

 (in flesh) 10'5 ; wiDg 4-2 ; tail 5'80 ; culmen -53 ; tarsus -55. 



The female has no black on the head or breast, the forehead and 

 breast being white to mauve-grey ; the crown and nape are brown 

 like the back ; the white on the outer pair of tail-feathers also is 

 more developed, especially on the outer web ; bill blackish ; feet dark 

 purplish-grey. 



The young bird is like the female but has a black band on the 

 chest ; there is no metallic spot on the wings or transverse band on 

 the rump ; most of the wing-coverts and scapulars are conspicuously 

 tipped with white or pale fawn with a subterminal band of black ; 

 bill black. 



Distribution. The Namaqua Dove is found all over Africa from 

 Senegal and Khartoum southwards to Cape Colony, it also ranges 

 across the Bed Sea into Arabia and has been obtained in the 

 Islands of Socotra and Madagascar. 



