1 16 MR. E. P. RAMSAY ON THE BIRDS OF [Jan. 18, 



Cardwell. They were not considered plentiful in the district. Those 

 obtained about Cape York are considerably less in size, and appear 

 more plentiful in that district. 



181. Chalcophaps chrysochlora. 



This pretty Ground-Dove is tolerably plentiful over the whole 

 district. I noticed it frequently close to residences and in gardens 

 within the township. 



182. Leucosarcia picata. 



This species is not by any means so plentiful as in the brushes of 

 New South Wales, where the woods resound with its monotonous, 

 deep, and melancholy call. It frequents alike the dry scrubs on the 

 margins of rivers, and those which clothe the damp stony sides of 

 the Sea-view range. Its flesh is highly esteemed, and resembles 

 that of a Quail. The bird is strictly a ground- feeder, only taking to 

 the trees when disturbed, where, perched on some thick branch, it 

 remains motionless until apparently all danger is over. The eggs 

 are two in number, of the usual form, but comparatively small. 



183. Phaps chalcoptera. 



We met with this bird rarely, and only on the sterile sandy flats 

 in open forest country beyond the coast range, where numerous 

 species of Acacia abound, on the seed of which they feed. 



184. Geophaps scripta. 



Occasionally found in open forest- country. Met with only in one 

 place, about 30 miles inland. I found it breeding in the Burnett- 

 river district in December 1870. The nest was placed beside a tuft 

 of grass, and consisted of a shallow hole lined with a fe'w blades of 

 dry grass. The eggs were two in number, and of a creamy white. 



185. ERYTHRAUCHiENA HUMERALIS. 



186. GeOPELIA TRANQUILLA. 



187. Geopelia placida. 



I found these species by no means rare. They prefer the open 

 country, and feed on the seeds of the " Grass-tree," Xanthorrhoea, 

 and various species of Acacia and other leguminous plants abundant 

 in the sandy tracts about Cardwell. 



188. Macropygia phasianella. 



This fine species, so abundant hi the "brushes" of the Richmond 

 and Clarence rivers in New South Wales, is far from being common 

 in the Herbert-river district ; I met with a pair on one occasion only. 

 It was quite an unknown species to most of the settlers in those parts. 



189. Talegallus lathami. 



However plentiful this species may have been formerly in the Rock- 

 ingham-Bay district, it is now very scarce, only one having been obtained 



