Order COLUHBtE.] [Fam. COLUMBID^]. 



CAEPOPHAGA NOVJl ZEALANDI^. 



(NEW-ZEALAND PIGEON.) 



New-Zealand Pigeon, Lath. Gen. Syn. ii. pt. 2, p. 640 (1783). 



Columba nova; seelandice, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 773 (1788). 



Columba zealandica, Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 603 (1790). 



Columba spadicea, Less. Voy. Coq. i. p. 710 (1826). 



Columba spadicea leucophaaa, Hombr. & Jacq. Ann. Sci. Nat. xvi. p. 319 (1841). 



Carpophaga nova; seelandiai, Gray, in Dieff. Trav. ii., App. p. 194 (1843). 



Columba argetrma, Forst. Descr. An. p. 80 (1844). 



Hemiphaga nova?-zealandiw, Bonap. C. E. xxxix. p. 1077 (1854). 



Native names. — Kuku, Kukupa, and Kereru. 



Ad. dorso seneo-ferrugineo : pileo antico lrete metallice viridi, postice cum nucha et colli lateribus magis seneo 

 nitentibus, his cyanescente tinctis : dorso postico et uropygio nitide viridibus cyanescente lavatis, supra- 

 caudalibus olivascenti-viridibus aeneo lavatis : tectricibus alarum miuoribus et majoribus dorso proximis 

 asneo-ferrugineis dorso concoloribus, majoribus et medianis exterioribus nitide viridibus : remigibus 

 nigris supra cyanescenti-viridi nitentibus, secundariis ameo lavatis : caudal nigra, supra saturate viridi 

 lavata, subtus nigricante, pennis omnibus versus apicem cinerascentibus : facie laterali cum gutture toto 

 et pectore superiore lsetissime metallice viridibus : corpore reliquo subtus pure albo : subcaudalibus cine- 

 rascentibus : subalaribus cinereis : rostro coccineo, versus apicem flavicante : pedibus coccineis : iride 

 coccinea, annulo ophthalmico pallide rubro. 



Adult male. Head, neck, and fore part of breast shining gold-green, changing according to the angle of 

 view; nape, shoulders, and upper surface of wings, as far as the carpal joint, coppery purple, with bright 

 metallic reflections where this colour blends with the green of the surrounding parts ; back and rump 

 greyish green, with dull metallic reflections ; quills and their coverts bronzy green, with the inner webs 

 dusky, the secondaries tinged with coppery purple ; an obscure band of grey (more conspicuous in the 

 young bird) crosses the outer webs of the primaries, being widest on the fifth and sixth quills; tail- 

 feathers black, with blue reflections on their edges, and terminally margined with brown ; under surface 

 of tail-feathers silvery grey towards the base, especially on the outer ones, blackish in their apical por- 

 tion, with lighter tips ; their upper coverts dull shining green ; underparts from the breast downwards 

 pure white, the lower tail-coverts tinged with yellow; lining of wings delicate ash-grey. The line of 

 demarcation between the lustrous green and the white is well defined, crossing the breast with an easy 

 curve and terminating immediately above the insertion of the wings, so that when the bird is at rest a 

 narrow margin of white appears over the bend of each wing. Irides and feet carmine-red ; soles yellow 

 and covered with small flattened papilla? ; claws black ; bill carmine-red in its basal half, changing to 

 yellow towards the tip ; eyelids pale red, with a reticulate margin, imparting to the brilliantly coloured 

 eyes a very soft expression. Total length 21 inches ; extent of wing 32 ; wing, from flexure, 10*75 ; 



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