308 BIRDS OF BRITISH BUKMAH. 



Genus OSMOTRERON, JBonap. 



667. OSMOTRERON BICINCTA. 



THE ORANGE-BREASTED GREEN PIGEON. 



Vinago bicincta, Jerd. Madr. Journ. xii. p. 13. Osmotreron bicincta, Jerd. B. 

 Ind. ii. p. 449 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, p. 493 ; SI. $ Wald. B. Burm. p. 144 ; 

 Armstrong, S. F. iv. p. 337 ; Gates, S. F. v. p. 163 ; Hume 8f Dav. S. F. vi. 

 p. 411 j Hume, S. F. viii. p. 109 ; Legge, Birds Ceylon, p. 725 ; Oates, S. F. x. 

 p. 235. 



Description. Male. Forehead, front of crown, sides of the head and 

 neck, chin and throat yellowish green ; hinder part of crown, nape and 

 hind neck ashy ; breast orange, separated from the green of the neck by a 

 lilac collar ; under wing-coverts and axillaries ashy ; abdomen and vent 

 greenish yellow ; sides of the body ashy ; the flanks yellow streaked with 

 dark green ; under tail-coverts cinnamon ; back, rump, upper tail-coverts 

 and lesser wing-coverts green ; winglet and primaries and the primary - 

 coverts black ; secondaries black narrowly margined with yellow ; tertiaries 

 and greater wing-coverts green, broadly edged on the outer web with 

 yellow; central tail-feathers ashy, the others darker ashy, and all the 

 feathers broadly tipped with pale ashy white. 



The female is very similar, but has no lilac or orange on the breast, this 

 part being of the same green as the abdomen ; the under tail-coverts are 

 pale ashy white dashed with brown or dull greenish. 



Bill dull green ; iris blue with an outer red ring ; legs pink. 

 Length 12 inches, tail 4*2, wing 6'3, tarsus *8, bill from gape 1. The 

 female is rather smaller. 



The Orange-breasted Green Pigeon is extremely common, being found 

 in all portions of the Province except on the higher hills of Tenasserim. 



It occurs over the greater part of the peninsula of India and Ceylon, 

 and probably in the Indo-Burmese countries ; and to the east it extends to 

 Cochin China. It is said to range as far south as Malacca. 



This bird has the usual habits of the Green Pigeons, associating in flocks 

 and feeding on fruit. I have found the nest in Pegu from March to May ; 

 it is composed of a few twigs and placed on one of the outer branches of a 

 large tree, or sometimes in a bush. 



The Pigeons of this genus have the bill of the ordinary form, similar to 

 that of Crocopus (that is, with half the upper mandible corneous and half 

 soft) ; the third- primary is sinuated on the inner web; the legs are red ; and 

 the sexes differ in coloration. They may consequently be separated at once 



