39?. 



-BIRDS. 



tambourine. It is of a brown colour above, and nearly 

 white beneath ; its forehead is also white, and the 

 greater wing- coverts exhibit three or four spots of 

 greenish-black. Its length is about nine inches. 



THE JAMAICA GROUND-DOVE (Peristera jamaicen- 

 gis'), which, with several other nearly allied species, is 

 generally distributed in South America and the West 

 Indian islands, is about twelve inches in length, and is 

 of a pale brown colour, with an orange tinge above, 

 and white, with a reddish tint beneath. The sides and 

 back of the neck are wine red, with lilac and golden- 

 green reflections. This bird inhabits the woods, where 

 it runs upon the ground with great swiftness, and roosts 

 in thick bushes. 



THE PASSERINE GROUND-DOVE (Chamcepelia pas- 

 serina), a member of a genus which is peculiar to 

 America, in almost all parts of which the species are 

 distributed, is found not only in the West Indies, but 

 also in the southern states of North America, where, 

 however, it is a bird of passage. It is a very small 

 species, measuring little more than six inches in length ; 

 its colour is a pale ashy-brown above, and pale reddish- 

 brown beneath. These birds frequent the open fields 

 and plantations, where they fly in small flocks, and feed 

 upon rice and other seeds. 



THE BRONZE- WINGED PIGEON (Phaps chalcoptera), 

 an inhabitant of almost all parts of Australia, is about 

 the size of a small pigeon, and is of a grayish-brown 

 colour, with a large spot of brilliant coppery bronze on 

 each feather of the wing-coverts ; the forehead is buff, or 

 buffy white, and there is a large white streak under each 

 eye. Unlike the preceding species, this bird possesses 

 great powers of flight, an endowment which is necessary 

 to it in the drier parts of Australia, to enable it to visit 

 the scattered supplies of water. It, nevertheless, feeds 

 entirely on the ground, and often frequents the stubble- 

 fields in great abundance, when it may be easily shot. 

 The flesh is said to be excellent. 



THE PARTRIDGE BRONZE- WING ( Geophaps scripta), 

 a native of Southern Australia, is likewise celebrated 

 by Mr. Gould for its gastronomic qualities. It is about 

 the size, and has very much of the appearance and 

 gait of a partridge ; its general colour is light brown, 

 but the chin and sides of the head are adorned with 

 snow-white patches, separated by spaces of deep black ; 

 the flanks are white, and several of the greater wing- 

 coverts exhibit spots of metallic greenish-purple. This 

 bird is commonly seen in small parties or coveys, and 

 is so tame that the bullock-drivers not unfrequently 

 kill it with their whips. It feeds on the ground upon 

 the seeds of grasses and other plants, and also lays its 

 two white eggs upon the bare ground. When disturbed 

 it flies off exactly in the same manner as a partridge, 

 but generally directs its course to the nearest tree, 

 when, alighting upon a horizontal limb, and placing 

 itself in the direction of the axis of the branch, it will 

 sit so closely that it is with difficulty distinguished or 

 driven off. Several nearly allied species are met with 

 in different parts of Australia. 



THE CRESTED PIGEON ( Ocyph aps lophotes), which 

 is also related to the preceding species, is a most elegant 

 little dove which inhabits the interior of the Australian 

 continent. It is about ten inches long ; the head, neck, 



and lower surface are of a delicate gray colour ; the 

 back is light olive-brown ; the lesser wing- coverts 

 are light-brown, with a transverse black bar on each 

 feather, and the greater wing-coverts, shining bronzed 

 green, margined with white; the quills are dark-brown, 

 with white edges. But the distinguishing characteristic 

 of this pigeon consists in an elegant black crest, much 

 resembling that of our native lapwing, which springs 

 from the back of the head, measures about two inches 

 and a half in length, and gradually tapers to a point. 



The Crested Pigeon is generally met with in swampy 

 districts ; it possesses great powers of flight, and usually 

 congregates in considerable flocks, especially when 

 visiting the water to drink. 



DIDUNCULINE PIGEONS. 



This group includes only a single species 

 THE DIDTJNCTTLUS (Didunculusstrigirostrvi), which, 

 however, presents the most singular combination of 

 characters, and is further remarkable as being the 

 nearest living ally of the extinct Dodo. In this curious 

 bird the bill is large and strong ; the upper mandible 

 is convex, and strongly hooked at the tip, whilst the 

 lower mandible is abruptly truncated at the apex, and 

 armed on each side with three strong teeth. The 

 basal portion of the sides of the upper mandible is 

 covered with a membrane, in which the elongated and 

 oblique nostrils are pierced; the wings are tolerably 

 long ; the tarsi are stout, and the toes long, and furnished 

 with strong claws. The bird is rather larger than our 

 common partridge ; it has the head, neck, and breast of 

 a glossy greenish-black, and the remainder of its plu- 

 mage deep chestnut; the bill and the naked skin 

 surrounding the eyes are bright orange, and the feet 

 are flesh colour. 



This singular bird inhabits the Navigator's Islands ; 

 it is described as dwelling principally upon the branches 

 of trees, and feeding upon berries and fruits. It flies 

 well, and is said to breed among the rocks in the inte- 

 rior of the islands. The chief interest attaching to the 

 Dinunculus is, however, to be found in its near approach, 

 especially in the form of the bill, to that most remark- 

 able extinct bird, the Dodo of the Mauritius, a resem- 

 blance which, indeed, probably furnished the first 

 inducement to Messrs. Strickland and Melville to place 

 the latter amongst the Columbine birds. 



THE DODO (Didus ineptus) fig. 123. This singular 

 bird, which was an inhabitant of the island of Mauritius 

 at the time of its discovery in the year 1598, and was 

 subsequently brought alive to Europe on several occa- 

 sions by the Dutch navigators, is now known as to its 

 external appearance only from a few pictures into 

 which it was introduced by the Dutch painters of the 

 beginning of the seventeenth century. The only parts 

 of its structure still to be found in Europe consist of 

 two heads, a foot, a few feathers, and some of its bones, 

 which are scattered about in various museums in Eng- 

 land and on the continent. 



From the pictures above mentioned, and the descrip- 



