454 Zoological Society : — 



March 22, 1864.— Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S., in the Chair. 



Notes on the Didunculus strigirostris, or Tooth-billed 

 Pigeon. By Dr. George Bennett. 



Having fortunately obtained by purchase a living pair of those 

 singular and rare birds, the Tooth-billed Pigeon {Didunculus strigi- 

 rostris), which had been brought from the Samoan or Navigators' 

 Islands to Sydney, New South Wales, an opportunity has been af- 

 forded to me of attentively watching their habits in captivity. To 

 guard against the event also of these valuable birds dying, I availed 

 myself of the services of Mr. C. Thomas, who made an accurate draw- 

 ing of them from life in their most natural attitudes ; and his drawing 

 conveys an excellent idea of the peculiar expression of these remark- 

 able birds when alive. I have sent a tracing of this drawing for in- 

 sertion in the ' Illustrated London News ; ' and should the bird now 

 on its way to England die, I shall be able to send the Society an ac- 

 curate coloured representation of the living birds. The Didunculus, 

 like the Dodo, has a very limited range, having only been found in- 

 habiting the Samoan or Navigators' Islands. In the contour of the 

 bill, the form and position of the nostrils, and several other charac- 

 ters, the Didunculus differs from any other living species at present 

 known ; and, although a smaller bird in size, it approximates the 

 nearest in all its characters to the extinct Dodo, and, like it, combines 

 the character of a rapacious bird with that of the harmless Pigeon. 

 The Dodo also inhabited a very limited space of land, as the remains 

 of that bird and allied genera have only been found on the small 

 islands of the Mauritius, Bourbon, and Rodriguez. The Didunculus 

 may therefore be regarded as the nearest living ally of the extinct Dodo. 

 Although the mandibles of the Didunculus are powerful in structure, 

 yet the beak is never used as an offensive weapon ; for when the hand 

 is placed in the cage, or the bird is seized for removal from one cage 

 to another, it never attempts to bite the aggressor, but, on the con- 

 trary, is so timid, that after fluttering about or running into a dark 

 corner of the cage in its efforts to escape, it soon becomes subdued 

 and is easily taken. 



In all the families of Pigeons a diversity in the form of the beak 

 is found. In the Fruit-eating Pigeon the beak is stronger, stouter, 

 and the corneous portion is strongly arched and compressed, bearing 

 a great resemblance to the structure in certain rapacious birds ; and 

 this form of beak is carried to the greatest extent in the Didunculus, 

 yet the living birds in captivity were never observed to crush hard 

 seeds or nuts. They would nibble into minute bits the seeds of lo- 

 quats, almonds, and hemp-seed, with the same action as observed in 

 the Parrot tribe when feeding. "When I first had the birds, boiled 

 potatoes and stale bread formed their diet. The boiled potatoes 

 were torn and swallowed in large pieces at a time, being soft ; but 

 the stale bread they would place their feet upon and tear with the 

 hooked beak into small bits. A piece of apple was also eaten ; but 

 the bananas placed in the cage were never touched, although it is 

 £aid that in a wild state they live on berries, and are very fond of the 



