451 



PIGEON. 



this is one of the most splendid birds of the whole 

 family ; and there have been a good many puzzles 

 about it as to the place in the system of ornithology 

 it should occupy. It has been called the crested 

 pigeon, the great crowned pigeon, the Indian crested 

 pheasant, the pigeon hocco, the gallinaceous pigeon, 

 and a number of other names, all of which are calcu- 

 lated to mislead the tyro in natural history. 



It is a large bird, measuring two feet three inches 

 in the extreme length, and rather stoutly made in the 

 body. The head and neck are not very large, and 

 the bill, though of moderate length, is slender, though 

 fortified with a slight enlargement towards the tip. 

 The tarsi and toes are stout, but the tarsi, though 

 longer than the middle toe, are not very long as coin- 

 pared with those of some of the ground pigeons ; and 

 from the general form of the feet, the bird cannot be 

 a very swift walker. The crest is of a peculiar form, 

 consisting of long and beautiful feathers, placed lon- 

 gitudinally on the mesial line of the head, spreading 

 like a fan, and reaching over the bill and the nape, 

 forming a continuous curve at their distal extremities. 

 The bill is about two inches long, black in the basal 

 part, but inclining to greyish-white at the tip. The 

 crest, head, neck, and all the under part of the body, 

 are pale bluish grey, glossed with reflections of blue 

 and purple. The back, the shoulders, and the smaller 

 coverts of the wings, have the basal part of the fea- 

 thers black, and the terminal parts rich purple with 

 bronze reflections. The greater coverts are black at 

 the base, white in the middle, and purple at the ex- 

 tremities, the white making a very conspicuous bar in 

 the closed wing. The quills and tail-feathers are 

 deep grey, the latter being marked with pale greenish 

 grey at the tip and distal margins. The tail, though 

 not very long, is strong and rounded as in the com- 

 mon rock pigeon ; but the wings are not nearly so 

 long in proportion, or so pointed as in that bird. 



This splendid bird is a native of the Indian Archi- 

 pelago, over the wooded parts of which it is very 

 generally distributed. It occurs as far west as Java, 

 if not as Sumatra, and eastward as far as the Molucca 

 Islands, and it is very abundant in New Guinea. It 

 is a wood pigeon, but feeds on the berries and seeds 

 of more lowly plants than the strong-billed pigeons. 

 Its short and rounded wings, and broad and strong 

 tail, show that the habit of its flight must consist in a 

 great measure of ascending and descending ; and 

 therefore we naturally conclude that it is not so dis- 

 cursive as the light-bodied pigeons with long and 

 pointed wings. It builds in trees, the eggs being two 

 in a hatch, but how many hatches occur in the course 

 of a year has not been ascertained. During the 

 breeding time the male and female pay the same at- 

 tention to each other as is.done by pigeons generally. 

 The general voice of the male is also that of the 

 pigeons, being a deep but not unpleasant cooing. 

 He also utters occasionally another sound, like that 

 of a slight explosion from the wind-pipe. This is one 

 of the reasons why these birds have sometimes been 

 classed with the hoccos, but the manners of the birds 

 are totally different ; for this, like all the other wood- 

 pigeons, is untameable by any known process, whereas 

 birds of the other genus are, generally speaking, 

 tamed with the greatest ease, and some of them are 

 capable of some training. Besides they are ground 

 birds, and natives of America. This large and splen- 

 did pigeon is a valuable as well as a handsome bird, 

 its flesh being highly esteemed, and in considerable 



quantity, in consequence of the large size, and tl 

 perennial supply or food in the native country. Tl 

 Dutch, who have been longer and more intimate 

 acquainted with the oriental islands than any oth 

 European nation, have paid a good deal of attenti< 

 to this bird, and they have frequently brought spe< 

 mens of it to Europe, in the hopes of naturalising 

 in Holland. Their attempts have, however, alwa 

 failed, because the bird, being a native of the caste 

 isles, is not able to bear the rigour of a Europe; 

 climate ; and probablv, from its habits, it would n 

 thrive, how well soever it might be protected frc 

 the cold. 



Double-crested Pigeon. In some respects there 

 a slight resemblance between this species and t 

 former, though in others they differ, and this o 

 makes a nearer approach to the common pigeons. 

 is a native of the east, and, though specimens \ 

 Britain have chiefly been brought from Australia, 

 has we believe been found in New Guinea, and ev 

 as far north as New Holland. Though by no mea 

 equal to the former in si/.e, this is still one of t 

 largest of the pigeon family, sometimes extending 

 a foot and a half in extreme length. The tail is n 

 so strong as in the former ; but the wings are mu 

 longer and more pointed, indicating a bird of power 

 flight. The bill is shorter and stouter than in t 

 last ; of an orange colour, and having the tip of t 

 under mandible shorter than that of the upper. T 

 crest consists of thread-like feathers, and, though 

 no means so handsome as that of the former, \ 

 gives an interesting appearance to the head. Thi 

 are not so properly two crests as one crest continu 

 along the middle line of the head, from the bill to t 

 hind head, the frontal portion of it being bluish-grt 

 and the occipital portion reddish-brown. The up} 

 parts are very dark grey, and the under parts blui 

 ash. The head is ash"; the quills and tail-feath< 

 are blackish, crossed by a band of pale reddish gr 

 near the tip ; the tarsi and toes are crimson ; and t 

 hind toe is very stout. The feathers on the sides a 

 front of the neck are bluish-black at their bases, a 

 pale greyish-ash where exposed. Their terminatic 

 are of a peculiar shape ; the broad part of the w 

 parts off towards each side in a curving fork, and t 

 shaft is continued in a small feather which has t 

 appearance of being let in between the other tv 

 The habits of this species are not very well know 

 but it is supposed that they in part resemble those 

 the goura pigeon, though this bird is much beti 

 adapted for flight, and on that account ranges 

 greater distances. 



Chestnut-shouldered Pigeon. This species is Iar 

 than the double-crested, measuring about twenty incl 

 in length. It belongs to the Eastern Isles, but has be 

 met with much farther east than the goura or t 

 double-crest. It is a beautiful bird, and all the coloi 

 of its plumage on the upper part are finely gloss 

 with reflections of metallic lustre. The bill is ycllo 

 ish-grey ; the head, fore neck, sides of the neck, a 

 breast, are deep green richly glossed ; the back of t 

 head and hind neck is reddish-green ; the back a 

 scapulars are reddish-brown, with rich reflections; 

 the under part from the breast is pure white ; t 

 wings are greyish, with green reflections ; and t 

 middle coverts of the same are rich green. The ta 

 feathers are brown, with purple reflections for t 

 greater part of their length passing into dull yellow 

 the tips. This bird has been found in the islands 1 



