204 INDIAN PIGEONS AND DOVES 



with brown and stil! more narrowly subtipped rufous, the latter bar some- 

 times obsolete. Central tail-feathers brown obsoletely barred darker; the 

 next pair almost black with broad terminal band of dark slate, each succeed- 

 ing pair has the slate-colour darker and the band of grey paler and wider 

 until on the outermost the basal half is quite black, and the terminal half 

 and a narrow edge down the other web practically pure white ; scapulars 

 and irmermost secondaries brown like the back, but with larger, paler spots 

 tinged with vinous ; lesser and median wing-coverts grey-brown with large 

 terminal spots of vinous, divided by a streak of deep brown, broadest termin- 

 ally and narrowest towards the base ; towards the shoulder of the wing the 

 spots fade and the grey increases, making this part look grey streaked 

 with brown ; greater-coverts grey ; edge of wing, primary-coverts and quills 

 dark brown, outer primaries and outer secondaries narrowly edged with 

 grey. Below, chin white and centre of throat albescent, changing into 

 the vinous-pink on the sides of the head, throat, and breast ; centre of 

 abdomen, vent, and under tail-coverts white, the latter often having a small 

 V-shaped spot of black or dark brown at the tip. 



Some birds, irrespective of age, have a few fine bars on the lower- 

 plumage formed by the feathers of the breast, abdomen and shorter tail- 

 coverts being fringed with dark brown. 



A few other birds, all of which seem to be very old males, have the lower- 

 back and rump a slaty-grey, the feathers more or less edged with rufous. 



Measurements. "Length about 11 inches, wing 5.5, tail 5.5, bill 0.55, 

 tarsus 0.9 "' (Salvador!). 



This little Dove varies very considerably in size, not only in different 

 localities, but individually. 



The following is a resume of the wing-measurements of the very large 

 series in the British Museum, to which are added a few others : — 



Wing. Average. 



North-west India 5.25 to 5.80 in. = 134.3 to 147.3 mm. 5.55 in. = 141.0 mm. 



North-east India 5.35 to 5.70 in. = 135.9 to 144.8 mm. 5.55 in. = 141.0 mm. 



Southern India ... 5.05 to 5.65 in. = 128.3 to 143.5 mm. 5.35 in. = 139.9 mm. 



Ceylon 4.85 to 5.10 in. = 123.2 to 129.5 mm. 4.98 in. = 126.5 mm. 



Colours of soft parts. Irides bright reddish-hazel and of two rings, the 

 outer redder and the inner more hazel ; eye-lids and narrow orbital bare 

 space red ; bUl dark horny-brown or horny -plumbeous ; legs and feet dull 

 red, lake-red, or purplish-red, never very bright; claws dark horny -brown. 



Female. Similar to the male, but I have seen no specimen with the pure 

 slate-grey rump sometimes acquired by old males. 



Measurements. The female is slightly smaller than the male on an 

 average, the wing being about J in. less, but the largest females consider- 

 ably exceed in size the smallest males from the same locality. 



Colours of soft parts as in the male. 



Young birds are browTier and paler on the head and have no nuchal 

 collar of black and white, the upper -parts are paler and are barred instead 

 of spotted with rufous and vinous, the black streaks are entirely wanting 

 at first and the markings on the wing-coverts and inner secondaries are pale 

 sandy-rufous instead of vinous; the primary-coverts are narrowly and the 

 secondaries broadly tipped wdth rufous, a considerable portion of the inner 

 webs of the inner primaries being of this colour. The under-parts are 



