268 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF INDIA. 



side, with a dark brown slanting bar on the inner web, which 

 varies very much in size and shape in different specimens, and 

 in some birds extends on to the outer web also of the first two 

 or three feathers. Seen from below, this spot has a bluish grey- 

 appearance, and the inner webs, below this spot, of the two or 

 three exterior tail feathers on either side, are often a bright pale 

 chesnut 



In, what I take to be, the young, the top and back 

 and sides of the head are as in the adult, but entirely 

 want the black streaks, the chin and throat are a pale, 

 ferruginous, the breast is a pale, somewhat yellowish chesnut, 

 fading on the abdomen to a pale yellowish brown with a 

 slight rufescent tinge, and the breast and the abdomen are 

 pretty regularly barred with narrow transverse blackish brown 

 lines, as are the sides of the neck also ; on the abdomen, besides 

 these tolerably well-defined bars, traces of intermediate irregu- 

 larly freckled bars occur. On the back of the neck and inter- 

 scapulary region the freckled barring is much as in the sup- 

 posed adult, but the well marked yellowish white bars preced- 

 ing the black tippings of some of the feathers are wanting, 

 though in some specimens pale freckly lines appear to indicate 

 their future position. The rest of the bird appears to be as in 

 the adult, but the covert tippings are less conspicuous. 



Davison says : — " This dove is very abundant at the Andamans, 

 but somewhat less so at the Nicobars ; it frequents gardens, 

 clearings, the secondary jungle, &c, retiring to the forest 

 during the heat of the day. As far as I have observed, and I 

 have examined a great many of these birds, I find that they 

 live exclusively on the small Nepal, or bird's-eye chilli. 



" This plant grows abundantly all over both Andamans and 

 Nicobars, especially in the secondary jungle and on the edges of 

 clearings. I was informed, when at the Andamans, that the 

 flesh of this bird was quite pungent from feeding on these 

 chillies, but I tried several, having had them cooked without even 

 the usual adjuncts of pepper, or salt, and although the flesh had 

 a somewhat peculiar, but not unpleasant flavour, I could not 

 detect the slightest trace of this attributed pungency. 



" The amount of the chillies consumed by these doves must be 

 enormous. I have often shot them with their craws so distend- 

 ed that falling from a moderate height they have burst. I 

 have never found the nest of this bird, nor could I obtain any 

 authentic information as to its nidification beyond that it breeds 

 about May, building- among the mangroves on the island of 

 Trinkut. I found a nest, and from the sight I got of the bird as 



