630 On the Birds of Prince's Island. 



The immature birds of this species have the feathers of 

 the body minutely freckled with ochraceous brown, while 

 in older specimens the grey feathers of the adult plumage 

 are making their appearance. 



There is considerable diversity in the colouring of the 

 under tail-coverts, which ranges from a uniform chestnut to 

 buff. In certain specimens these feathers are minutely 

 freckled, while in others there is no appearance of freckling. 



43. "^Haplopelia principalis. 



Peristera principalis Hartl. ; Salvadori_, Orn. Golfo d. 

 Guinea, i. 1903, p. 12. 



Haplopelia principalis Bocage, Jorn. Sci. Lisboa, 1903, 

 p. 51. 



a, b. S ad. 27. ii. 09. 



c. S ad. 28. ii. 09. 



d. ? ad. 10. iii. 09. 



e. ? ad. 11. iii. 09. 



This Dove is restricted to Prince's Island, and Boyd 

 Alexander succeeded in procuring five examples during 

 his visit. Count Salvadori, in his paper, writes that when 

 he prepared the ' Catalogue of Birds ' he had not seen any 

 example from Prince''s Island. Dr. Beichenow believed 

 that H. principalis was identical with H. simplex from 

 St. Thomas', but, as Count Salvadori points out, tliis idea 

 is erroneous. I have had the advantage of comparing six 

 specimens of. H. principalis in the British Museum^ including 

 the series enumerated above, with a series of fourteen skins 

 of H. simplex, of which twelve were collected by Alexander 

 in St. Thomas' in January and February. A series of each 

 species was therefore collected about the same time of year, 

 and affords an excellent opportunity for comparison. 

 Dr. Beichenow is undoubtedly wrong in the conclusions 

 which he has formed, and I concur with Count Salvadori 

 that the two forms are perfectly distinct. 



H. principalis has the upper partis much browner, while the 

 sides of the neck are more vinaceous than in H. simplex^ 

 which has the upper parts much bluer^ particularly on the 

 mantle. The difference is even more striking on the under 



