298 



GYRANTES. COLUMBAD^. 



For delicacy and flavour of flesh this species 

 scarcely yields to its congener, and is but a little 

 less in request. It is dark in hue, but exquisitely 

 delicious, tender, juicy, and free from bitterness. 



It is an arboreal bird, but not quite so exclusively 

 as the Ring-tail. Like the Bald-pate, he is often 

 shot, by forestalling him at his feeding tree, before 

 day-break. In form he agrees with the bird just 

 named ; his legs and feet are stout and strong ; his 

 head and neck small and slender ; the plumage of 

 his nape forms a sort of ridge. M. Temminck, pro- 

 bably having never seen the bird alive, and not being 

 aware of the very singular peculiarity of the iris 

 mentioned in the note, has given his figure red 

 eyes. The two colours impart a very unusual cha- 

 racter to the physiognomy of the species ; it is con- 

 stant, not accidental. 



About the end of April, I was informed of a 

 Blue Pigeon's nest on a lofty limb of an inaccessible 

 cotton tree. It was a more substantial structure 

 than those of its congeners, being made of dried 

 grass, or similar material, as well as twigs. A Bald- 

 pate had a nest on a contiguous tree, and the neigh- 

 bouring birds were continually squabbling. I have 

 never seen the eggs. 



The Blue Pigeon is said to inhabit not only all 

 the great islands of the West Indies, but also 

 Guiana. 



