o> 
BAND-TAILED PIGEON. 481 
the sides erect at the base, sloping outwards toward the end, the edges 
sharp, the tip narrow but blunt. Nostrils medial, oblique, linear. 
Head small, oblong, compressed ; neck of moderate length; body 
full. Feet short, strong ; tarsus very short, rounded, with two ante- 
rior rows of large hexagonal scales; the hind part fleshy with very 
small scales ; toes broad and flat beneath, marginate, with large scu- 
tella above ; the hind toe smallest, the lateral nearly equal, the middle 
toe much longer. Claws of moderate size, arched, compressed, grooved 
beneath, rather acute. 
Plumage rather compact above, blended beneath, on the hind neck 
strong, with metallic gloss. Wings long, the second quill longest, the 
third only a twelfth of an inch shorter, the first six-twelfths shorter, 
and a little longer than the fourth, the rest rather quickly graduated ; 
secondaries of moderate breadth and rounded. First quill with the 
outer web narrower at the base than toward the end, the second and 
third quills with their outer webs having a slight sinus and attenuated 
toward the end. Tail of moderate length, rounded, of twelve broad 
abruptly rounded feathers, of which the lateral is half an inch shorter 
than the longest. 
Bill yellow, with the tips black. Feet yellow, claws greyish-black. 
Bare space around the eyes carmine. The head, fore neck, and breast 
are of a light reddish-purple or wine-colour, which on the abdomen 
and lower tail-coverts fades into whitish ; a narrow half-ring of white 
on the hind neck, the lower part of which is of a metallic brownish- 
green tint. The upper parts are greyish-blue, darker, and tinged 
with brown on the fore part of the back and scapulars; sides of the 
body and rump greyish-blue. Alula, primary coverts, primary quills, 
and outer secondaries brownish-black, very narrowly margined with 
brownish-white, Tail greyish-blue at the base, much paler and tinged 
with yellow toward the end, these colours being separated at the dis- 
tance of two inches from the tip by a band of black. 
Length to end of tail 16 inches, to end of wings 133; wing from 
flexure 9; tail 62; bill along the ridge 18, along the edge of lower 
mandible 175; tarsus 17,; hind toe 3, its claw 74; middle toe 144, 
its claw 7%. 
Adult Female. Plate CCCLXVII. Fig. 2. 
The female differs from the male only in having the tints a little 
VOL. IV. Hh 
