Tooth-billed Pigeon 



439 



discovered in the Solomon Islands. This bird has the bluish gray chest and 

 mantle of the others, while the rump is grayish brown, the primaries drab-brown, 

 the secondaries dull cinnamon, and the tail dark purple. The crest is large, 

 flat, and composed of feathers with segregated barbs, and the feathers of the 

 wing are particularly hard and stiff. It is a ground-haunting species, feeding 

 on fruits and seeds, and is said to lay a single, rich cream-colored egg. 



FIG. 143. Tooth-billed Pigeon, Didunculus strigirostris. 



The Tooth-billed Pigeon (Subfamily Didunculince). This bird, by all 

 odds the most anomalous and peculiar of the living representatives of the 

 group, enjoys the distinction attained by relatively few birds of representing 

 in itself a species, genus, and subfamily. It is between twelve and thirteen 

 inches in length, with a compact body, rather short, stout legs, and a high, 

 hooked bill, which is toothed or serrated near the tip of the lower mandible, 

 while the nostrils open obliquely, in which feature it differs from all known 

 Pigeons; there are also a number of peculiarities in the anatomical structure. 

 The plumage of the head, neck, and upper part of the back is greenish black, 

 while the back, wings, tail, and upper tail-coverts are chocolate-red, and the 

 remainder of the under parts brownish black. The legs and feet are bright 



