CRESTED PIGEON; 261 



Genus OCYPHAPS. 



Ocyphaps Gray, Appendix List Gen. Birds., p. 12, March 1st, 1842 (ex Gould MS.). Type 

 (by original designation) : Columba lophotes Temminck et Laugier. 



Lophaon Streubel, in Ersch und Gruber's Encycl., Sect. III., Vol. XVII., p. 94, 1842. Type 

 (by monotypy) : C. lophotes Temm. et Laugier. 



Large Ground-Doves with short stout bills, long occipital crest, long wings, 

 long wedge tail and small legs and feet. There is a small bare space around the eye. 



The bill is not so stout as in the preceding genus, the dertrum less swollen and 

 more deflexed, the gonys of the under mandible shorter and less ascending, the 

 mandibular rami weaker and obsoletely grooved ; altogether it recalls that of Geopelia 

 but is stouter. The bill is much shorter than the head ; the occipital crest is formed 

 of long, narrow attentuate feathers. The wing is very long and rather pointed, the 

 secondaries short ; the first primary is not scalloped, the second a little incised on 

 the outer web, the third strongly attenuated for about half its length, being deeply 

 incised on the outer web and scalloped on the inner web ; the others only faintly 

 scalloped on the outer webs ; the first primary is about equal to the sixth, the 

 second to fourth subequal and longest ; the secondaries short. The tail is strongly 

 wedge shaped, composed of fourteen feathers, broad and with rounded tips, the 

 upper and under tail-coverts short ; the tail is about three-fourths the length of 

 the wing. The tarsus is short and stout, not much longer than the culmen and the 

 front is covered with a single row of large horizontal scutes, the sides and back with 

 minute reticulation. The toes are slender and long, the middle toe nearly as long 

 as the tarsus, the outer longer than the inner, the hind-toe long but much shorter 

 than the inner toe and notably margined with soft skin. 



Coloration brownish-grey above, barred on wing-coverts, and with a purple and 

 green patch ; under-surface dove-grey. Apparently more closely related to Geopelia 

 than to the "Phaps " series. 



179. Ocyphaps lophotes. CRESTED PIGEON. 



Gould, Vol. V., pi. 70 (pt. xiii.), Dec. 1st, 1843. Mathews, Vol. I., pt. 3, pi. 44, April 29th, 

 1911. 



Columba lophotes Temminck et Laugier, Planch. Color. d'Ois., 24 e livr. (Vol. II., pi. 142), 



(Vol. IV., pi. 117), July 26th, 1822 : Blue Mountains, New South Wales. 



Columba palustris Bennett, Cat. Spec. Nat. Hist. Austr. Mus., p. 42, 1837, after July 26th. 



New name for "Columba lophotes Temm." 



Ocyphaps lophotes whitlocki Mathews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 191, Jan. 31st, 1912: 



East Murchison, mid-West Australia. 



Ocyphaps lophotes stalkeri Mathews, ib. : Alexandra, Northern Territory. 



DISTRIBUTION. Australia generally. Not Tasmania. 



Adult male. General colour of the upper-parts grey, with a strong blush of 

 pink, more particularly on the hind -neck, sides of neck, and sides of breast, becoming 

 more olive-grey on the rump and upper tail-coverts, with metallic coppery reflections 

 on the rump ; lesser wing-coverts pale grey, remainder of the coverts and scapulars 

 barred with black, the median and greater series tipped with white, giving the 

 appearance of two parallel bars of white, and enclosing a bronzy-green speculum ; 

 the secondary -quills also tipped with white, which indicates a third wing-bar ; a 

 second wing-speculum of metallic -purple ; bastard-wing and primary -coverts grey, 

 edged and tipped with white ; quills pale brown, whitish on the inner webs towards 

 the base ; tail-feathers blackish, showing bronzy -green reflections and tipped with 

 white, more broadly on the outer feathers ; head pale lead-grey, with an elongate 

 crest of black feathers ; throat and under-surface pale grey, darker and more dusky 

 on the flanks and under tail-coverts ; under wing-coverts and axillaries white ; 

 bill black ; iris orange, orbits pinkish-red. Total length 310 mm. ; culmen 22, 

 wing 163, tail 123, tarsus 25. 



