PLUMED PIGEON. 259 



Genus LOPHOPHAPS. 



Lophophaps Reichenbach, Nat. Syst. Vogel, p. xxv., 1852 (? 1853). Type (by original 

 designation) : Qeophaps plumifera Gould. 



Small stoutly-built Ground-Doves, with short stout bill, long occipital crest, 

 short rounded wings, short tail and small stout legs and feet. There is a bare space 

 round, in front and behind the eyes. The bill is shorter than the head, nearly half 

 as deep as long, dertrum swollen more than half the length of the culmen, under 

 mandible stout, gonys very long, more than half the length of the mandible. It 

 agrees very closely with that of the preceding genus in most details. The occipital 

 crest is composed of a few very long and thin feathers. The wing is rounded, the 

 primaries narrow, the first showing no attenuation but the second to sixth notably 

 incised on outer webs, seventh slightly ; the first is only a little less than the second 

 and equal to the sixth, the second, third, fourth and fifth subequal and longest, the 

 secondaries long and only a little shorter. The tail is nearly square, only slightly 

 rounded, the feathers broad, rounded at the tips and fourteen in number ; it is a 

 little more than half the length of the wing, the tail-coverts are very long, both upper 

 and under nearly reaching to end of tail. The legs are very small and stout, the 

 tarsus about equal to the culmen, covered with hexagonal scutes, a double row of 

 large scutes in front, fewer but strong ones on sides and back. The toes very short 

 and straight, the middle toe a little longer than the outer and inner, which are sub- 

 equal, the hind-toe shorter, the claws short and little curved, the hind-toe showing 

 no lateral skin expansion. 



Coloration sandy -buff above and below ; barred with blackish above and a 

 dark line across the breast, the abdomen varying to pure white ; the fore -head slaty- 

 blue, chin white, black line above and below eyes and a black patch on throat ; 

 occipital crest varying to straw colour ; bronze patch on inner secondaries. 



177. Lophophaps plumifera. PLUMED PIGEON. 



Gould, Vol. V., pi. 69 (pt. vn.), June 1st, 1842 ; Suppl., pi. 69 (pt. iv.), Dec. 1st, 1867. 

 Mathews, Vol. I., pt. 3, pi. 43, April 29th, 1911. 



Geophaps plumifera Gould, Birds Austr., pt. vn., June 1st, 1842 : near Cape Hotham, 



Northern Territory. 



Lophophaps leucogaster Gould, Birds Austr., Suppl., pi. 69, pt. iv., Dec. 1st, 1867 : Mach- 



rihanish Station, South Australia (interior). 



Lophophaps plumifera pallida Mathews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 190, Jan. 31st, 1912: 



Parry's Creek, North-west Australia. 



DISTRIBUTION. North Queensland, Northern Territory, North-west Australia. Interior 

 South Australia. 



Adult male. General colour above sandy-buff, barred with black and grey, 

 more coarsely on the wings and sides of neck ; primary -co verts and quills chestnut, 

 the latter tipped with blackish-brown ; the outermost primary blackish on the outer 

 web ; the greater number of the primaries have black shafts ; some of the inner 

 secondaries brown, with whitish margins ; the innermost secondaries like the back, 

 with metallic -purple spots on the outer webs ; middle tail-feathers like the back, 

 outer pair almost entirely black, the remainder reddish-brown, broadly tipped with 

 black ; fore-part of the head and ear-coverts blue-grey ; hinder part of the crown 

 and crest bright fawn colour, the elongated plumes straw colour ; a narrow line 

 of black on the fore-head, which extends over and below the eye ; chin and lower 

 throat black ; cheeks and upper throat white ; fore-neck, sides of the body and 

 under wing-coverts fawn colour ; abdomen and a band across the breast white ; an 

 irregular band across the breast, composed of grey and black bars ; under tail-coverts 

 slate-grey, margined with white ; bill blackish ; iris yellow, bare skin round the 



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