12 COLUMBID^. 



Coloration. Male. Forehead and crown, sides 'of head and neck, 

 chin, and throat yellowish green, passing on the occiput into the 

 bluish grey of the nape and hind neck ; back, scapulars, ter- 

 tiaries, and wing-coverts green, passing into bronze-green on the 

 rump and upper tail-coverts ; quills black, the greater coverts 



and tertiaries with broad yellow outer margins, the primaries 

 and secondaries with linear yellowish outer edges; tail-feathers 

 slaty grey, all except the middle pair with a black band more 

 'than half an inch from the tip, this band broadest on the outer 

 pair, occupying the greater part of the feathers ; beneath, the 

 tail-feathers are black with a grey tip : a lilac band forming 

 upper portion of breast, remainder of breast orange ; abdomen 

 yellowish green, growing pure yellow on the thigh-coverts and 

 round the vent; lower flanks green with yellow edges; under 

 tail-coverts cinnamon; flanks and wing-lining slaty grey, tvith 

 some green. 



The female has neither lilac nor orange on the breast (which is 

 yellowish green like the abdomen), and has the yellow tail-coverts 

 chiefly buff. 



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

 (Oates). 



Length about 11-5; tail 3'7o ; wing 6'25 ; tarsus -85; bill 

 from gape '95. Females rather less. Ceylon birds are smaller ; 

 wing 5'75. 



Distraction. Ceylon, the forests near the Malabar coast as far 

 north as Canara, and the forest country in South-western Bengal 

 and Orissa, as far south as the Godavari. Jerdon states that he 

 obtained this species once in the Carnatic and once east of IXellore, 

 but it has not been recorded from any other parts of the Indian 

 Peninsula except those named. It inhabits Lower Bengal and 

 the base of the Himalayas as far west as Nepal, together with 

 all the countries from Assam throughout Burma to Hainan, Cochin 

 China, and the Malay Peninsula. 



Habits, fyc. The call, though different in tone from that of 

 other species, is similar. This Green Pigeon breeds in Burma 

 from Murch to May; the nest and eggs are of the usual type, and 

 the eggs measure about 1*07 by '87, 



