244 



NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



johannce and P. stairii, from the Duke of York and Samoan Islands respectively, 

 may be named. All the species possess fourteen tail-feathers. 



The members of the genus Phaps are confined to Australia, where they are known 

 as the bronze-winged pigeons. They are distributed generally all over that continent, 

 are fine plump birds, weighing about a pound apiece, and afford excellent food. They 

 breed sometimes on the ground, sometimes in the fork of a tree, are exceedingly 

 swift in flight, and are capable of traversing great extent of country, during the sea- 

 son of drought, in search of water, in a very brief period of time. The species, of 

 which there are three, possess a very attractive plumage, and derive their trivial name 

 from the lustrous coppery bronze spots upon the coverts of the wing. The tail con- 

 sists of sixteen feathers. 



FIG. 117. Callcenas nicobarica, Nicobar pigeon. 



Lophophaps and Geophaps are also also Australian genera, the first containing 

 three, and the last two species. The members of ^Lophophaps are lovely birds, having, 

 as their generic name implies, a long crest rising from the centre of the head, the 

 back and wings being crossed with rusty-red and brown bands, and metallic bronzy- 

 purple mark on the secondaries. They are small birds about eight inches long, con- 

 gregate on the ground, and rise, when disturbed, like quails, plunging immediately in 

 the long grass for concealment. The species of the other genus are larger birds, with 

 peculiar black and white markings on the face and throat in one ( G. scripta), and 

 orange black and white in the other G. smithii. They are strictly terrestrial in their 

 habits, and in their carriage and action similar to a partridge. They go at times in 

 pairs, but frequently in coveys, and, when approached, run and hide in the grass. 

 They rise with a loud noise and fly with great rapidity, taking refuge in the nearest 

 tree. The eggs are laid on the ground, but no nest is made. 



