244 A MANUAL OF THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



Adult male. General colour above and below rufous -chestnut, paler on the 

 under-surface, with purple and green reflections on the hinder neck and mantle ; 

 bastard-wing, primary -coverts and quills blackish-brown, the latter with rufous 

 edgings ; tail chestnut with indications of a blackish bar towards the tip on the 

 three outer feathers, middle feathers with obsolete dark bars, scarcely visible ; 

 fore-head paler rufous than the crown ; chin buff ; throat, sides of face, and 

 chest dark cinnamon, becoming paler on the breast and rufous-chestnut on tho 

 flanks and under tail-coverts ; under wing-coverts much darker chestnut ; 

 under-surface of tail pale rufous, some of the outer feathers marked with slate- 

 grey ; iris deep yellow or blue with an outer circle of scarlet, orbital skin bluish- 

 lilac, feet pink-red. Total length 382 mm. ; culmen 24, wing 197, tail 187, 

 tarsus 22. 



Adult female. Differs from the adult male in its smaller size and paler coloration* 

 the head chestnut, the lower hind -neck, and upper back brown, minutely barred or 

 dusted with rufous, the feathers of the wings and scapulars dark brown, everywhere 

 margined with bright chestnut, the bastard-wing, primary-coverts and quills dark 

 brown, edged with rufous ; rump and upper tail-coverts bright chestnut ; the tail 

 similar but duller ; chin and middle of upper throat buff ; sides of face and sides 

 of neck pale chestnut with narrow black bars, becoming deeper chestnut colour 

 on the fore-neck and chest, and with the dark bars wider apart, the abdomen paler 

 chestnut and the dark bars less defined ; bill black ; iris white ; feet red. Total 

 length 393 mm. ; culmen 23, wing 173, tail 180, tarsus 22. 



Immature male. Differs from the adult male in having the crown of the head 

 bright chestnut ; the feathers of the wings margined with bright rufous-chestnut ; 

 hind-neck, mantle, fore-neck and chest narrowly barred with rufous and black, more 

 broadly on the breast ; a buff streak below the eye ; bill very dark slate colour ; 

 iris chestnut ; tarsus and feet dark magenta. Wing 184 mm. 



Immature female. Similar to the immature male described above. Bill black : 

 iris white ; feet red. 



Nest. A very primitive structure being simply a few sticks placed crosswise, 

 without any cavity, and barely sufficient to retain the egg in position. 



Egg. Clutch, one ; a true ellipse in form ; pure white ; the texture of the shell 

 being fine and slightly glossy. Dimensions 34 mm. by 24. 



Breeding-season. October to February. 



Distribution and forms. Queensland, Eastern Northern Territory and New 

 South Wales, and probably extra-limital. The two Australian forms are easily 

 separable by size, the northern form M . p. robinsoni Mathews, being notably smaller. 

 Rothschild and Hartert, twenty years ago, indicated four additional subspecies 

 ranging west to Sumatra and north to the Philippines, but this distribution w;i 

 reconsideration with more material available than at present. 



FAMILY TURTURID^E. 



There appears to be at least two distinct groups associated in this family, the 

 Turtle-Doves and the Ground -Doves. The former are more delicate ground- 

 feeding but flying birds, while the latter are stouter ground -feeding and ground- 

 living birds. The feet of the latter are very stout and of Galline form, wh le ; 

 of the former are more slender and of a semi -perching character. The b'lls differ 

 in much the same way, and of course the wings show corresponding differences. 

 Garrod's peculiar grouping cast a blight upon Pigeon systematics, and novel work 

 must be undertaken in a scientific manner to rearrange the birds accurately. If the 

 restricted families here admitted are polyphyletic, as Garrod's conclusions suggest, 

 the rearrangement will provide many surprises. 



