474 Mr. Swainson on New Australasian Birch. 



The Coluinba magnifica may thus form the type of a subordinate 

 section, more closely approaching to Treron ', while the narrow- 

 quill feather of Ptilinopus may serve to conduct us to the naked- 

 legged Pigeons. 



Ptilinopus purpuratus. (Var. Regina.) 



Columba purpurata? Lath. Gen. Syn. 4. 626. 

 Coloinhe kurukuru ? Tern. Pig. p. 280. 



P. viridis, vertice purpureo-roseo margine semi-lunari aureo ; 

 Jascia lata abdominali aurantiacd ; tegminibus inferioribus 

 Jlavis ; pennis colli rigidis apice fur cutis. 



Creen; crown, rosy purple with a semilunar margin of golden- 

 yellow; band on the body orange; under tail coverts yellow; 

 feathers on the breast rigid, the tips forked. 



I shall first accurately describe two specimens of this most 

 lovely bird, sent to Mr. Brogden ; and then make some observa- 

 tions as to its identity with the Columba purpurata of authors. 



Total length about nine inches.* The upper plumage is of a 

 beautiful parrot-green, inclining to yellowish ; the green on the 

 wings is deeper and more brilliant^ having a rich glossy appear- 

 ance : the greater coverts and lesser quills are margined by a 

 narrow edging of buff-yellow. The crown and fore part of the 

 head is covered by a patch of a beautiful rose-lilac colour,Nand 

 bordered behind l)y a narrow line of golden-yellow; this line com- 

 mences on each side of the mouth, and forms a semicircle on the 

 crown. The chin, and half way down the throat, is pale yellow. 

 The occiput, sides of the head, and tips of the neck- feathers, are 

 of a pale and delicate cinereous. The feathers on the breast are 

 pale green, but tipt w ith cinereous ; these feathers have also a 

 peculiar formation, each being forked in such a way, as to give the 

 appearance of half the shaft, with its lateral radii, having been 

 broken off. Immediately beyond the breast the colour is pale 

 ^reen, and the feathers become tinged with a spot of delicate lilac, 

 which covers a small space in the middle of the body, and en- 



* It is very difficult to give, \vitli exactness, the total length of any bird 

 after it has been stuffed; so much depending upon the degree of extension or 

 contraction which Uio skii\ uiiJcrgoes by that process. 



