VARIOUS DOVES. 379 



from Peninsular India, in which the plumage is vinous red ; the lower back, rump, 

 and flanks grey; the head, under wing-coverts, lower abdomen, and under tail-coverts 

 similarly coloured but paler; the outer wing-coverts darker, the chin whitish, 

 the vinous red upper-parts separated from the grey of the head by a black collar 

 on the hind-neck ; and the quills blackish with pale edges. A nearly allied form (T. 

 humilis) from the Indo-Chinese countries, is distinguished by having the under 

 wing-coverts much darker and of a grey colour. In Tenasserim it is found in 

 larger or smaller flocks, very wild and difficult to approach, and keeping to the thin 

 tree and bamboo-jungle. These flocks were met with in the vicinity of cultivated 

 land, feeding on the ground, and when disturbed rose together and settled on the 

 same tree, sometimes a leafless one, sometimes one with plenty of foliage. 



The three species of turtle-dove constituting the fourth group (Spilopelia) are 

 distinguished by having the feathers of the hind-neck forked at the extremity, and 

 black ornamented with two white spots at the tip. The Burmo-Malayan species 

 (T. tigrinus\ recognised by the dark brown shaft-line on the wing-coverts, is the 

 common dove of Tenasserim, and is met with in gardens, fields, and grassy land ; 

 in fact, wherever the country is open, but not in the forest or on the higher hills. 

 It is sometimes seen singly, or in pairs, at other times in small flocks or in hundreds. 

 The last group (Stigmatopelia) includes two species which may be recognised by 

 having the feathers of the fore-neck forked at the extremity, and black with two 

 rufous spots at the end. They have a wide range, the Senegal turtle-dove (T. 

 senegalensis) being found all over Africa, while the brown turtle-dove (T. cam- 

 bayensis) ranges from Asia Minor to Central India. The former is characterised by 

 the plumage of the upper-parts being more or less reddish, and the rump bluish grey. 

 The subfamily Geopeliince contains three genera, with a few small species from 

 both the Old and New Worlds, and is characterised by the short rounded wings, 

 a rather long tail of fourteen feathers, and no metallic tint on the sides of the neck 

 or elsewhere. The Old World forms belong to the typical Geopelia, ranging from 

 Burma to Australia, and have the first quill-feather pointed at the extremity. The 

 American genus, Scardafella, includes two doves about the size of sparrows, with 

 the first flight-feathers normal, and the tail of twelve feathers ; the Inca dove (S. 

 inca) from the South- Western, North, and Central America being a well-known 

 example. But a single species (Gymnoj)elia erythrothorax) is included in the last 

 genus, distinguished by the large naked patch surrounding the eye. 



The six American genera of the subfamily Peristerince are 

 'characterised by their small size and the general uniform coloration of 

 the plumage ; the wings being, as a rule, ornamented with metallic spots, and rather 

 short and rounded, while the primaries are not much longer than the secondaries. 

 In five genera the tail is rather longer than half the length of the wing ; while 

 the two last may be distinguished by having the first primary pointed at its 

 extremity, The picui dove (Columbula picui), the only representative of the first 

 genus, is peculiar in having a steel-blue band across the wing, and by the middle 

 and outer pairs of tail-feathers being shorter than the intermediate ones. Found 

 only in South America, it is the smallest dove of Argentina where it is a resident, 

 frequenting the neighbourhood of houses ; and its song, consisting of a succession 

 of long, rather loud and somewhat monotonous notes, may often be heard in 



