GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 1 6/ 



numbers seemed to increase ; it is said to be equally abundant on the banks of all rivers between 

 New Soutli Wales and the Murray, in South Australia. Mr. Gould has never observed it in 

 collections from the northern or western parts of that continent ; thus it would appear to be limited to 

 the south and east. 



The WHITE-FI.ESHED PIGEONS {Leiicosarcia) are recognisable by their powerful, compact 



build ; long, round beak ; short, shell-shaped wings ; moderate -sized, rounded tail, and very 



long tarsi. 



THE WONGA-WONGA PIGEON. 



The WoNGA-woNGA Pigeon {Leucosarcia picata) is of a greyish hue on the mantle, and white oh 

 the brow, throat, and under side. The sides of the head are light grey ; the bridles, a triangular 

 patch and two broad lines on the upper part of the head are black ; the feathers on the sides of the 

 belly are decorated with dark, triangular, metallic spots ; the anterior wing-feathers are brown, the 

 outer tail-feathers white at the tip, and the feathers of the lower tail-covers dark brown, becoming 

 lighter towards their tips ; the eye is dark brown, the beak purplish black, and the foot of a reddish 

 shade. The length of this species is fifteen inches ; the wing measures seven inches and a half, and 

 the tail five inches and a quarter. 



The Wonga-wonga Pigeon is an inhabitant of Australia, where, however, seeing its value as an 

 article of food, it is by no means so plentiful as could be wished. 



" This Pigeon," says Gould, " must always be an object of interest, from its large size, and its 

 ■white flesh rendering it a great delicacy for the table, in which respect it is second to no member of 

 its family, the only one at all approximating it being the Geophaps scripta. It is to be regretted that 

 a bird possessing so many qualifications should not be generally dispersed over the country, but such 

 is not the case. To look for it on the plains or in any of the open hilly parts would be useless, no 

 other districts than the brushes which stretch along the line of coast of New South Wales, or those 

 clothing the sides of the hills of the interior, being favoured with its presence. The same kind of 

 situations that are suited to the Brush Turkey {Tatlegallus Lathami), the Menura, and the Satin Bird 

 are equally adapted to the Wonga-wonga. Its distribution over Australia mainly depends upon 

 whether the surface of the country be or be not clothed with that rich character of vegetation common 

 to the south-eastern portion of the continent. As the length of its tarsi would lead one to expect, 

 this species spends most of its time upon the ground, where it feeds upon the seeds and stones of tlie 

 fallen fruits of the towering trees under whose shade it dwells, seldom exposing itself to the rays of 

 the sun or seeking the open parts of the forest. While traversing these solitudes, the explorer is 

 frequently startled by the sudden rising of the Wonga-wonga, the noise of whose wings is not very 

 different from that made by the rising of a Pheasant. Its flight is not of long duration, its wings 

 being merely employed to remove it to a sufficient distance to enable it to avoid detection by again 

 descending to the ground or mounting to the branch of a neighbouring tree. I had frequent 

 opportunities, continues Mr. Gould, of personally observing it at Illawarra, on the low islands at the 

 mouth of the river Hunter, and in the cedar brushes of the Liverpool range. During my encamp- 

 ment in those parts I shot them whenever an opportunity occurred, for the purpose of eating." We 

 have no precise information respecting the nidification of this important bird. 



THE HACKLED GROUND TIGEON. 

 The Hackled Ground Pigeon {Callxnas Nkobaricd) is a powerfully-built bird, with a strong 

 beak, furnished with a soft, conical excrescence at its base ; the feet approximate the gallinaceous type, 

 having stout tarsi and short toes ; the long wings when closed extend almost to the tip of the rounded 



