GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 1 63 



birds migrate each spring from, the island of Cuba to the keys of Florida, but are rarely seen, on 

 account of the deep tangled woods in which they live. Early in May, 1832, while on a shootmg 

 excursion, I saw a pair of them on the western side of Key West. They were near the water, 

 picking gravel, but on our approaching them they ran back into the thickets, which were only a few 

 yards distant. Several fishermen and wreckers informed us that they were more abundant on the 

 Mule Keys, but although a large party, including myself, searched these islands for a whole day, 

 not one did we discover there. I saw a pair which I was told had been caught when young on the 

 latter keys, but I could not obtain any other information respectmg them than that they were fed 

 upon cracked com and rice, which answered the purpose well." 



Grundlach tells us that the nest of the Partridge Dove is built of twigs and placed amongst the 

 parasitical plants that entwine themselves around the branches of their favourite forest trees. We are 

 without any reliable information concerning the manner of incubation or the appearance of the eggs. 



The BRONZE-WINGED PIGEONS {Phapes) also pass a considerable portion of their lives 

 upon the ground, but, unlike the preceding, are furnished wth short tarsi and long toes. All are of 

 comparatively large size, and most species powerfully framed, though in some instances their length of 

 tail gives them a somewhat slender appearance. The beak is strong, the wings generally long and 

 pointed, and the tail composed of from fourteen to sixteen feathers of various sizes. The variegated 

 plumage is enlivened by a strong metallic brilliancy. The members of this beautiful group inhabit 

 Oceania. 



THE CRESTED ERONZE-WING. 



The Crested Bronze-wing {Ocyphaps lop/wtes), the most striking member of the family, has a 

 slender body, moderately long, pointed wing, and long, graduated tail, formed of fourteen feathers, and 

 wedge-shaped at its extremity. The short beak is hooked at tlie tip, and the low foot has its centre 

 toe almost as long as the tarsus ; the back of the head is decorated with a long, pointed plume. The 

 head, face, breast, and under side are grey ; the crest is black, the mantle light olive-bro\vn, shading 

 into red on the sides of the head ; the large feathers on the wing-covers are of a glossy, metallic 

 bronze-green, edged with white ; the quills brown, narrowly bordered with brownish white, and partially 

 tipped with white ; the centre tail-feathers are light brown, the rest of a deeper shade, with a greenish 

 sheen on the outer web and white tips. The eye is orange-red, the bare skin around the eye red, the 

 beak deep olive, with a brown base and black tip, the foot red. The length is thirteen inches and 

 a half, and that of the wing and tail six inches each. 



" The chasteness of its colouring," says Mr. Gould, " the extreme elegance of its form, and the 

 graceful crest which flows from its occiput all tend to render this Pigeon one of the most lovely 

 members of its family, and it is therefore to be regretted that owing to its being exclusively an 

 inhabitant of the interior of Australia it can never become an object of general observation. As 

 might be supposed, this bird has attracted the notice of all travellers who have crossed the Blue 

 Mountains." Captain Sturt mentions it as being numerous on the plains of Wellington Valley and 

 in the neighbourhood of the Morumbidgee. " The locality nearest the coast-line that I know it to 

 inhabit is the country near the bend of the river Murray, in South Australia, where it is tolerabl}' 

 abundant. It is numerous on the banks of the Namoi, and is occasionally seen on the Liverpool 

 Plains. It frequently assembles in very large flocks, and when it visits the lagoons or river-sides for 

 water, during the dry seasons, generally selects a single tree, or even a particular branch, on which to 

 congregate before descending simultaneously widi its companions to drink.'' 



" Its flight is so rapid as to be unequalled by that of any member of the group to which it 

 belongs. An impetus being given by a few quick flaps of the wing, it goes skimming oft", apparently 



