470-. 



PIGEON. 



of sterile places, being found on the arid plains which 

 contain only a few bushes and stunted trees. It feeds 

 upon the berries of some of the singular shrubs which 

 occur in these countries, especially upon those of 

 Lissanthe, one species of which, by the way, is the 

 only shrub in Australia which bears any thing like an 

 eatable berry. The resting-place is either in a hollow 

 tree near the ground, or on the ground itself', and 

 hollow trees are understood to be far more abundant 

 in Australia than in any other part of the world. It 

 makes scarcely any nest, the eggs are two, and of a 

 white colour. During the breeding time, which of 

 course is in our winter, as that answers to the Australian 

 summer, the pairs never part, and are much attached 

 to each other ; and it does not appear that at any 

 time these birds flock. The note of the male is de- 

 cidedly that of the pigeon tribe, and it is so loud as 

 to be heard at a considerable distance. Though these 

 birds are generally seen upon the ground, yet they 

 perch during the night on trees or bushes, but never 

 at any very great elevation. It appears that they are 

 in so far migratory, moving southward, or into colder 

 latitudes, during the summer, and northward into 

 M'armer ones during: the winter ; for though they are 

 common enough in the neighbourhood of Sydney 

 during the summer half year, or from September to 

 February according to the calendar, they disappear 

 during the remaining months. They are exceedingly 

 beautiful birds ; but it does not appear that they 

 could be domesticated. We shall now notice one or 

 two of the ground doves of southern Africa and the 

 warmer parts of America, which have still more of 

 the ground character than those which we have 

 already noticed, though they do not, as has been 

 alleged, make the slightest approach to the galli- 

 naceous birds, either in their appearance or habits. 

 It is true that their wings are hollow and round, and 

 their tarsi long and strong, so that they are incapable 

 of long flight, though very dexterous at rising, and 

 they can run with much celerity. In consequence of 

 this, they have been called pigeon pullets, and some- 

 times pigeon partridges ; but these additions to the 

 names are inaccurate, inasmuch as the bill and head, 

 and indeed the whole expression of the biid, are de- 

 cidedly those of a pigeon. They live chiefly upon the 

 ground, and sometimes nestle there if they cannot 

 find low bushes for that purpose. Their domestic 

 establishments have not been much observed, but it 

 is generally understood that each hatch consists of 

 only two eggs. This point is not, however, abso- 

 lutely ascertained. But, though they feed habitually 

 upon the ground, and sometimes nestle there, they 

 generally, if not always, perch for repose ; and though 

 their wings are short and rounded, they are still de- 

 cidedly pigeon wings. We shall notice two or three 

 of the species. 



White-bellied Ground Dove. This species is found 

 in South America, and also in Jamaica, and various 

 other of the West India Islands. Its length is about 

 twelve inches. The upper plumage of the body is 

 brown, glossed with a greenish tinge; and the under 

 plumage is white, shaded with purple red ori the breast 

 and fore part of the neck. The forehead, chin, and 

 throat, are bluish white ; the top of the head and the 

 occiput are greenish grey, but purple in some lights. 

 The sides of the head, from the eyes downward, and 

 the back of the neck, are deep purple red, with rich 

 reflections of lilac and golden green. The roots of 

 the quills, and under coverts of the wings, are pale 



yellowish brown. The middle tail feathers are greyish 

 brown, and the three exterior ones en each side are 

 grey, with white tips. The bill is black, and the feet 

 reddish. The claws are short and blunt, indicating 

 the habit of the bird as seeking its food upon the 

 ground, though it generally perches upon low bushes 

 or the lower branches of trees for repose. Its food 

 is wholly vegetable, consisting of the seeds of grasses 

 and other plants. It runs with much more celerity 

 than any ot the tree or rock-building pigeons, but it 

 is not so decidedly a dweller in the arid places as the 

 eastern species last mentioned. It is generally found 

 in those bushy tracts which are intermediate between 

 the bare plain and the forest, and it picks up more of 

 its food after that has dropped on the ground than 

 when it is on the plant or bush. 



Copper-coloured Ground Dove. This is another in- 

 habitant of the wanner parts of South America and 

 the West India Islands, but it differs considerably 

 from the former, being considerably smaller in size, 

 and inhabiting different localities. Its pastures are 

 on the elevated and rocky mountains ; and as food 

 for it is but thinly scattered there, it is endowed with 

 great swiftness of foot. But though it runs something 

 after the manner of a partridge (and the inhabitants 

 of Jamaica call it the mountain partridge), it always 

 perches on a bush or low branch of a tree when it 

 reposes. It seldom takes the wing except when 

 alarmed, and then its flight is low and fluttering, and 

 performed with a great deal of noise. It cannot 

 continue long on the wing ; but when it is pursued it 

 alternately flies and runs, and, as is the case with 

 many ground birds, it flies iu one direction and runs 

 in another, in order to throw the pursuer out. It 

 generally nestles upon the ground, under a bush, or 

 in the shelter of a projecting piece of rock, but its 

 eggs are understood to be only two. It is reported 

 that the young are much sooner able to provide for 

 themselves than the young of those pigeons which 

 are better winged ; and this is in strict accordance 

 with the general analogy, or the general principle, 

 that running birds are always sooner able to shift for 

 themselves than flying ones, which is always more the 

 case in proportion as the birds are more upon the 

 ground, their pastures more barren, and their food 

 consequently more laborious in the finding. One 

 cannot help admiring the beauty of this adaptation, 

 simple though it be; for otherwise the decidedly ground 

 bird, which is appointed to gather in the scanty har- 

 vest of a comparative desert, would not be able to 

 carry a sufficient quantity of food to the nest for the 

 supply of its young. In consequence of this the 

 instinct of maternity is modified in such birds ; and the 

 mother, instead of bringing food to her young in the 

 nest, is instructed by nature to lead them to the places 

 where food is to be found. It does not appear that 

 even this dove, which has probably a more decidedly 

 ground habit, and a less productive pasture than any 

 other of the family, comes out of the shell so com- 

 pletely matured for running as a pullet or a partridge, 

 but still it differs remarkably from those species of the 

 family which depend much upon the wing. 



The copper-coloured ground dove is about nine 

 inches in length. Its bill is rather short, and its 

 tarsi comparatively long, and both are of a red colour. 

 A portion of the upper mandible towards the face is 

 thickly beset with very small feathers. The head, 

 neck, and whole upper part, are bright orange, but 

 glossed with reflections of rich purple, which give at 



