156 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. XXT III, 
Columba leuconota (1296).—The White-bellied Pigeon. 
In Stuart Baker’s Indian Pigeons and Doves there are two remarks concerning 
this pigeon which I should like to criticise. In the first place he says that they 
are apparently never seen below 5,000’. This remark is not quite correct for 
Garhwal where they constantly descend to 4,000’ in the Pindar valley opposite 
to Gwaldam during the winter months, in fact there is a large cliff here facing 
the Pindar river at a little below 4,000’ elevation to which snow pigeon regularly 
resort at this season. Then he remarks a little further on that it is entirely a 
rock-pigeonin its habits, and only very severe stress of weather will drive it 
into forested country. With this remark I also cannot fully agree. It is cer- 
tainly mainly a rock-pigeon in its habits, but I have constantly found it through- 
out the cold weather in forested country, in fact at this time of year in Garhwal 
these pigeons live mainly in tracts which are covered with forest. At the same 
time I do not mean to imply that they actually feed about inside the forest. 
They feed at all times in the open, either in cultivated fields or on more or less 
bare grassy slopes but the immediate surroundings are frequently well forested, 
and during the day time they often sit for hours in some tree at the edge of the 
forest. The habits of snow pigeon in Garhwal differ somewhat according to the 
time of year. In December, January and February which are the coldest months 
they live very largely in flocks of 50 to 100 birds at elevations between 4,000’ 
and 7,000’. In the Pindar valley at this time of year they roost amongst steep 
cliffs bordering the river itself. Early in the morning they come to feed on the 
stubble and about 10 o’clock return to the cliffs where, after a drink from the 
river, they seem to remain for the rest of the day. Sometimes a flock will sit 
the greater part of the day in some large chir tree near their roosting cliff. The 
crops of pigeons which I examined at this time contained small quantities of barley 
and other grains, but much larger quantities of the seed of a leguminous plant 
Vicia sativa, Linn., which is common in cultivated fields. They never seemed to 
feed on crops which had germinated but only on bare stubble. When feeding 
in this manner they keep rapidly on the move and often form up in a close phalanx 
moving forward over the ground like a flock of sheep, each bird trying to rival 
with his neighbours in being the first to investigate new ground. During April 
and May the flocks are usually seen from 7,000’ to 10,000’,and at this season they 
retire to roost amongst cliffs approximating the latter elevation. At about 7 a.m., 
they may be seen arriving on the stubbles which will probably be somewhere 
between 7,000’ and 8,000’ elevation. They appear in pairs or small parties of half 
a dozen or so, but they soon all join on the feeding grounds to form small flocks. 
They were usually seen drinking between 8 or 9 in the morning and about 10 
o’clock they commenced to work upwards again towards their roosting quarters 
though they seemed to feed largely throughout the day at elevations between 
9,000’ and 10,000’, where they investigate patches of bare ground from which 
the snow has only recently disappeared. They do not return to lower feeding 
grounds in the evening. 
Dendrotreron hodgsoni (1297).—The Speckled Wood-Pigeon. 
This is rather a rare pigeon in Garhwal and I have only seen it in the north of 
the district, and here always in well-wooded parts at elevations between 7,000’ 
and 9,000’.. I have never seen more than 6 birds together at a time. Its native 
name is ‘‘ Bhekala ” which is also the name for Prinsepia utilis, a small thorny 
shrub which has a bluish black fruit like a small plum. The pigeons are parti- 
cularly fond of this fruit which in fact seems to be one of their principal foods, 
and it is on this account that the native name for the shrub and the bird are 
identical. 
Palumbus casiotis (1298).—The Eastern Wood-Pigeon. 
Stuart Baker in his “Indian Pigeons and Doves’’ quotes Hum: to the effect that 
these pigeons appear in this part of the Himalaya about the beginning of Novem- 
ber and stay until the middle of April when they depart for other quarters, and 
