694 PALUMBTJS TOKEINGTONLE. 



Carpophaga torringtonii (ELel.), Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiv. p. 59. 

 Palumbus torringtonim (Kel.), Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 466 ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 25. 

 Lady Torringtons Pigeon, Kelaart ; Blue Pigeon, Black Pigeon, Wood-Pigeon, Coffee-planters. 

 Mila-goya (qoya being the name for Pigeon), Sinhalese in Central Province; Mahavillagoya, 

 apud Layard. 



Ad. supra pulchre sehistaceo-niger: interscapulio lilascenti-vinaceo, dorsi summi phunis vix quoque lilacino adumbratis : 

 teetricibus alarum dorso eoncoloribus : remigibus brunueis, schistaceo extus lavatis, secundariis intiinis dorso con- 

 coloribus, primariis anguste pallidiore brunneo limbatis : capite undique vinaceo, colli postici jugulique plumis 

 viridi nitentibus, illius plumis albo terminaliter maciilatis : corpore reliquo subtus pulchre lilascenti-vinaceo, sub- 

 caudalibus longioribus sehistaeeo-nigris, reliquis vinaceis ad basin schistaceis : subalaribus et axillaribus schistaceo- 

 nigris : rostro pallide cserulescente, ad basin plumbescente : pedibus carnescenti-albis, tarso antieo rubescente : 

 iride pallide rubra, plaga orbitali carnea. 



Adult male. Lengtb 13-5 to 14-3 inches ; wing 7'7 to 8-0 ; tail 5*25 : tarsus 1*1 ; middle toe 1*2, its claw (straight) 

 0-4; bill to gape 14. 



Iris pale red ; orbital skin pink ; bill, basal half plumbeous, the apical or corneous portion bluish ; tarsus in front and 

 top of the toes red, posterior tarsus and sides of toes with the soles paler; claws fleshy white. 



Ili-ad, nape, and upper throat vinaeeous ashy, paling to albescent on the chin, and passing on the chest and under 

 surface into a more vinous hue, which pales into reddish albescent on the belly, and passes round on the hind 

 neck and upper part of interscapular region into fine reddish bronze, richly illumined with metallic green, the head 

 and fore neck being more faintly illumined with the same ; a broad black demi-collar across the hind neck, with 

 white tips to the feathers ; rest of upper surface and wings bluish plumbeous, the tail blackish slate and the 

 quills deep brown, with fine light margins to the primaries ; under tail-coverts dark cinereous ashy, passing into 

 reddish brown at the tips of the feathers. 



Female. Length 1 3-2 inches ; wing 7'2 ; tail 5-0 ; tarsus 0-9 ; bill to gape 1-0. 

 Legs and feet not so red, with the posterior part of tarsus and sides of toes fleshy white. 



Head, chest, and under surface more ruddy than in the male, and the cupreous hue of the lower hind neck deeper; 

 under tail-coverts and flanks redder. 



Young. Birds of the year have the iris yellowish grey, with generally a narrower outer ring of pale red (the normal 

 colour of the adult); bill dusky at the tips; legs and feet dull red anteriorly, dusky fleshy behind. 



Upper surface ashy plumbeous ; forehead and face slightly ruddy ; neck-patch not developed, the feathers of the nuchal 

 collar being blackish, with ashy-whitish tips, not pure white ; the metallic hues of the hind neck faintly developed ; 

 t ruddy plumbeous ; the under surface vinaeeous slaty, washed with fulvous-brown on the breast. Some 

 examples have the wing-coverts edged with rusty, and the chin and gorge more albescent than in the adult. 



i itm. This fine Pigeon, which was at first considered to be a variety of the Nilghiri Woodehat, P. elpMnstoni, is closelv 

 allied to that species, differing from it merely in the colour of the back, scapulars, and wing-coverts, which are 

 copper-colour in the continental form. An example in the British Museum lias the head slaty, with a slight 

 bronze tinge; the lower part of the hind neck, the back, scapulars, and wing-coverts are of a bronzed copper- 

 colour : tail no1 so " slaty " as in P. torringtonia ; throat greyish ; chest light slaty, tinged with green ; the breast 

 and lower parts iridescent slaty grey, wanting the vinaeeous tint of the Ceylou bird ; the bill is stouter, and the 

 measurement 8-7 and 8 - 5 inches respectively in two examples which I have measured. 



The genus Palumbus is a somewhat limited one, comprising m India, besides the two species already noticed, the 

 Himalayan Cushat ( /'. ni.<i*>ti$, Bp.), which is the representative of the European Cushat, and the northern ally of 

 the JN'ilghiri "Wood-Pigeon, P. puMiricollis. The latter is a very handsome bird, differing from P. elpMnstoni 

 chiefly in it s brilliantly-coloured neck and also in its redder under surface. The feathers of the neck-patch are rigid, 

 black at the base, changing into reddish, and tipped with white. P. casiotis differs from the " Bing-Dove," 



ever, that this part of the world belongs to two distinct zoological regions— the Indian and the Australian; and in these the 

 Pigeons are very unequally distributed ; for the western and larger portion (the Indo-Malayan subregion) contains nine 

 genera and forty-three species, while the eastern and smaller portion (The Austro-Malayan subregion) has fifteen genera 

 and eighty-four species. Here, therefore, the species of Pigeons become more condensed and more varied than in any other 

 part of the globe : here is the focus of the order : and it was probably from this part of the world that the original dispersal 

 and modification of the group chiefly took place. This condensation is carried to its greatest height in New Guinea, in 

 which, although only a few points on its coast have been visited, no less than 25 species of Pigeons have been obtained." 



