4i 6 The Plover-like Birds 



Pigeon, the cap is purple-violet, " the occiput and sides of the head olive-green, 

 sides and back of the neck bright rufous; back, rump, and upper tail-coverts, 

 scapulars, and wing-coverts green; scapulars, inner greater wing-coverts, and 

 inner secondaries with deep blue spots near the tip; smaller wing-coverts near 

 the bend of the wing deep blue ; quills black, the primaries with narrow outer 

 yellow edges; chin and greater part of the cheeks pale gray; breast pale gray 

 with the base of the feathers purple ; below the breast a broad black band, more 

 or less tinged with blue or green; abdomen white, the flanks green with two 

 white bands; under tail-coverts white with a longitudinal green spot on the 

 inner web and tinged with pale yellow on the apical edge; bill olive-green with 

 the tip yellowish, the feet rose-color." As Gould well says: "the hues of no 

 other feathered creature can surpass newly moulted individuals of this bird." 

 Almost equally beautiful are many of the others, but of these we may only men- 

 tion the exquisite little Eugenia's Pigeon (lonotreron eugenia) of the Solomon 

 Islands. About eight and one half inches long, the upper parts are bronze-green, 

 with the head pure white, the throat and chest purple-red surrounded by a dull 

 purple band, while the bend of the wing, as well as several spots along the coverts, 

 is light gray, and the under parts are grayish green, becoming whitish on the 

 abdomen. 



Confined to the Fiji Islands is a group of these species belonging to the 

 genus Chryscenas, which are characterized by having the inner webs of the 

 flight-quills yellow or orange-yellow. Of these perhaps the most beautiful is 

 C. victor, a bird only about seven inches in length, in which the general plumage 

 of the male is bright orange, with the head and throat olive-yellow, and the 

 bill and feet green. In the female the entire plumage is rich green, yellowish 

 and lighter on the head and throat, and with the bill and feet mainly black. 

 In C. -viridis the general plumage of the male is dark green with a golden gloss 

 on back and breast and greenish yellow on head and neck, while the female 

 is plain green. Both these species are about seven inches in length. 



Wart Pigeons. Very striking birds are the so-called Wart Pigeons (Alec- 

 trcenas), the four living species being confined to the Madagascarian subregion, 

 but there was also a fifth species in the Mauritius which has become extinct 

 within historic times. They are larger than those last considered, being from 

 nine to nearly twelve inches in length, and have the plumage mostly a deep 

 blue, with the feathers of the neck deeply bifurcated and hackle-like in appear- 

 ance. They take their name of Wart Pigeons from the presence of wattles 

 on the sides of the forehead. In the Red-crowned W T art Pigeon (A. pukherrima} 

 the plumage is black with blue reflections, the feathers of the crown being hair- 

 like and carmine in color, while the sides of the head, neck, and upper breast 

 are gray, and the naked skin around the eyes as well as on the wattles is red. 

 In the Madagascar Wart Pigeon (A. madagascariensis] the general color is 

 indigo-blue, with the throat and neck slaty gray, becoming blue on the forehead, 

 while the tail and its upper coverts is dark crimson glossed with blue or green 

 at the base. These birds are mainly arboreal, feeding on dates, figs, berries, 

 and grain, and are strong of wing. 



