448 



THE CRESTED PIGEON. 



abdomen and iinder tail-coverts are white. The eye is chestnut, and under it there is a little 

 patch of bare pink skin ; the legs and toes are brownish-yellow, and the beak is brown. The 

 young birds of the year are differently shaded with brown ; the head is wholly of that color, 

 the wing-coverts are tipped with yellowish-white, and the quill-feathers of the wing are edged 

 with a rusty hue. The tail, too, is without the white that distinguishes the adult bird. The 

 total length of this species is rather more than eleven inches. 



THE little CRESTED PIGEON, although not so conspicuous as some of its relations, is one 

 of the most elegant in form and pleasing in color among this tribe. 



It is a native of central Australia, and, according to Mr. Gould, is fond of haunting the 

 marshy ground by the side of rivers and lagoons, and there assembling in large flocks. The 



CRESTED PIGEON and BRONZE-WING PIGEON. Phape topAotosnd ctialcojitem. 



gregarious propensities of this bird are indulged to an extent that seems almost ridiculous, for 

 a large flock of Crested Pigeons will fly to the same tree, sit closely packed upon the same 

 branch, and at the same moment descend in a mass to drink, returning in a similar manner to 

 their perch. The flight of this bird is strong, and rather curiously managed. When it starts 

 from the tree on which it is sitting, it gives a few quick strokes with its wings, and then darts 

 off on steady pinion with an arrowy flight. When it settles, it flings up its head, erects its 

 crest, and jerks its tail over its back, so that the crest and tail nearly touch each other. Its 

 Best is, like that of most Pigeons, made of little twigs, and placed on the low forking branch 

 of some convenient tree. While sitting on the nest, or perching quietly on the bough, the 

 crest lies almost upon the back, and from below is hardly distinguishable from the rest of 

 ' the plumage. 



The head, face, and most of the under portions are pearl-gray, the long slender crest being 

 jetty black, and the sides of the neck tinged slightly with pink. The back of the neck, the 

 back, flanks, and both tail-coverts are light brown ; the feathers at the insertion of the wing 

 ,art- Imir. crossed with black nearer their tips, and the great coverts a sUnlBg bronze-green 

 'edged with white. The primiiry fVntlirrs of the wing are brown, some p:ir1i;illy edited with 

 brownish-white, and the rest with pure white. The secondaries are brown in their inner webs, 



