i 



434 The Plover-like Birds 



tion by man, both civilized and aboriginal, who conceal themselves near the pool 

 and when a large number have settled pull a net over them, or slaughter them 

 with guns. The black men, selecting the right moment, when the birds are most 

 compactly gathered, hurl their boomerangs into the mass, often securing several 

 dozen within the space of a minute of two. The Flock Pigeon nests in a slight 

 depression on the bare ground, under a tuft of grass, and while not exactly in 

 communities many may be found in proximity. The chief cause for their 

 decrease in numbers is said to be the stocking of the plains with sheep and cattle, 

 which trample the eggs and young, and eat the grass down until it is prevented 

 from seeding. 



Partridge-Pigeon. Passing over the two so-called Rock Pigeons (Petro- 

 phassa), of which but little is known, we may mention the Partridge-Pigeon 

 (Geophaps scripta), mainly of the interior part of eastern Australia. It is light 

 brown above, with the throat and cheeks white, the lores and three bands on the 

 side of the head black, while the lower parts are grayish white, becoming fawn- 

 color on the abdomen; there is also a speculum on the greater wing-coverts of 

 metallic greenish purple which is barred with darker, and the tail is reddish brown; 

 the length of the bird is about twelve inches. This species is found in pairs or 

 small flocks on the plains or open timbered country, and from its habit, when 

 approached, of running away rapidly and crouching or "squatting" down 

 motionless, it is often called the Squatter Pigeon. It is strictly terrestrial and 

 makes its nest in a shallow depression on the ground and lines it with soft grass. 



The two remaining genera of this group, also exclusively Australian, are dis- 

 tinguished at once from the other members by the possession of well-defined 

 crests. In the first genus (Lophophaps], which includes three species known as 

 Plumed Pigeons, the tail is relatively short and nearly even, while in the other 

 (Ocyphaps), known as the Crested Pigeon, the tail is long and much rounded. 



The Plumed Pigeons are handsome little birds about eight incheg in length, 

 the best-known species being the true Plumed Pigeon (L. plumifera) of north- 

 western Australia. The general plumage is pale cinnamon-color, the back of the 

 neck and mantle with brown bars, while the upper wing-coverts and scapulars 

 are beautifully rayed with cinnamon at the tip of the feathers, with brown in the 

 middle and gray at the base; the primaries are cinnamon and the secondaries brown 

 edged with rufous, and there is an oblong bronzy purple spot on the inner webs 

 of three of the inner secondaries; the chest is very rich cinnamon bounded below 

 by a crescentic band of white, succeeded by a narrow one of black, while the center 

 of the abdomen is snow-white and the flanks cinnamon; the irides are bright 

 orange, and the lores and bare skin around the eye crimson or orange-red, 

 bounded above and below by a narrow line of black, and the long crest plumes 

 are cinnamon, paling into whitish buff toward the tips. This elegant little 

 bird frequents the heated and arid plains of the interior, where, says Captain 

 Sturt, "it was generally perched on some rock fully exposed to the sun's rays 

 and evidently taking a pleasure in basking in the tremendous heat. It never 

 perched in trees, but was seen sunning in the grass on the creek side and could 

 hardly be distinguished from a Quail. When it dropped after rising from the 



