Birds of Celebes: Treronidae. (529 



Vorderman el4); Karimon- Java Is. (Koorders el5); Tenimber Islands (H.O.Forbes 

 9, 22, Riedel in Leyd. M.); Halmahera, ?Temate, Morty, Ceram, Amboina, ?Weeda, 

 Matabello, Waigiou, Salawatti, Misol, Kei, Aru, North-west New Guinea , Karimtua 

 Id. near Sorong, Karanton (S. Miiller, v. Rosenb., Wallace etc. 8, 20). 



Like Carpophaya concinna and pickeringi and Caloenas nicoharica this white 

 Pigeon is of what we have called insular habits. On the whole it avoids the 

 large islands, and when it occurs on them it is at such points as are near the 

 sea, such as the Northern Peninsula of Celebes and the Western Peninsula of 

 New Guinea. It certainly seems to have a predilection for small islands; thus, 

 when the "Marchesa" passed close to Bancoran — "a lonely lagoon islet of the 

 San Miguel group — its lofty trees appeared literally covered with thousands 

 of snow-white birds, which from their colour and flight could have been none 

 other than the Bornean Nutmeg Pigeon ( Mi/ristidvora hicolor T \ while Davison 

 (e 9) speaks of it as occurring on some of the Nicobars in almost incredible 

 numbers, though on other islands of the group it is absent. Mr. Whitehead 

 (e 18) writes: "This beautiful Pigeon is seldom met with on large islands, but 

 loves to frequent the small islands round the coast, in which it at times fairly 

 swarms. It affects the tops of the high fruit-bearing forest-trees, when on 

 looking up sometimes you may see a tree fairly alive with them, and the birds 

 themselves squabbling, feeding, and driving one another about from branch to 

 branch". Meyer writes in his diary that great flocks of this jsigeon were to 

 be seen literally hanging in white clusters on the waringin trees near the shore 

 of Manado tua, an island which it takes a few hours to boat round. The pre- 

 ference of these Pigeons for small islands is a mystery. Do they assemble thus 

 on small islands for protection against Birds-of-prey, feeling strength in numbers 

 like a flock of sheep, or against the ravages of lizards and small mammals on 

 their nests? 



Moreover, these sociable Pigeons are not stationary in most of their tropical 

 island-haunts; and no wonder, for it is evident that such masses of individuals 

 must soon eat up an island, so far as their peculiar fruit-food is concerned. 

 There were none on Great Cocos when Hume was there, but the lighthouse- 

 keeper told him they appeared at certain seasons in great numbers, and 

 Davison, going about a month later, found them abundant. Hume remarks 

 that "to the Andamans and the Great Cocos, Barren Island and Narcondam it 

 is a seasonal visitant". Among the wooded islands to the south of the Malay 

 Peninsula it is not uncommon "at certain seasons", according toKelham (e 12). 

 Whitehead (e 18) has "often seen them at sea, making flights from island to 

 island, no doubt in quest of fresh fruit-trees"; and Meyer fZj observed them crossing 

 the broad sea-arms which separate the difl'erent small islands near Manado. So 

 also during the Voyage of H. M. S. "Fly" (1847, 157) J. B. Jukes observed white 

 Pigeons , which he calls C. luctuosa (probably C. spilorrhoa), migrating in nume- 

 rous small flocks across the islands of Torres Straits. And yet there are writers 

 who will point to such a bird as this for proof that the islands it inhabits must 



