72 MY FOREIGN DOVES AND PIGEONS. 
to 
BrusH BRONZE-WING PIGEON AND NEsvt. 
1.—FEMALE ON Nest, Mate PERCHED NEAR. 
2.—NESTLING, 16 DAYS OLD. 
3.—MaLe CoverinG NESTLINGS. 
Floto by Mr. D. Seth-Smuth. 
From The Avtcultural Magazine. 
as much as 50/- a pair, or odd ones for as little as 
7/6 or less. The French call this pigeon Luma- 
chelle. It is a very hardy bird, and can stand the 
winter out of doors. 
BRUSH BRONZE-WING PIGEON. 
(Phaps clegans). 
Habitat.—Southern Australia, from Swan River 
on the west to Moreton Bay on the east, Tasmania, 
and Islands in Bass’s Straits. 
Length.—\bout 13 inches. Shape, rounded, 
and well proportioned. 
Colouring.—Adult male—Crown of head grey, 
forehead bright sable red. A | white line runs 
behind the eve; the breast and neck slate grey, a 
triangular patch of dark chestnut on the throat. 
Back of neck and mantle reddish chocolate; back 
and wings warm chestnut. The bands of metallic 
feathers very vivid across the wings. The first 
band shows green and orange-red reflections, the 
second band blue and green. 
The adult female has breast and neck dun-grey. 
Back, wings and tail olive-brown; the forehead 
and top of head dun-grey, sometimes slightly chest- 
nut; the sides of head and over cye rich chestnut, 
coming down over the back of the neck, and out- 
lining the sides of the throat. There is a creamy 
white patch behind the eye. The metallic colours 
are on the wings, but not so large nor rich in 
colour as the cock. The eyes of both birds are 
round and dark, the feet and legs in both sexes 
bright pink-red. The young birds are brownish 
with the edges of the feathers rufous brown. At 
26 days old a rich chestnut tinge has appeared on 
the neck. The sexes can then be distinguished, 
the male showing more white on the cheeks and 
chestnut on the nape and forehead. At the age of 
nine or ten weeks the young bird has changed into 
the adult plumage. 
WILD LIFE. 
This pigeon prefers the more scrubby localities, 
especially those that are low and swampy. Gould 
writes: ‘I have never seen it perch on the 
branches of trees. When flushed it rises with a 
loud burring noise similar to that made by the 
rising of a partridge.”’ ‘‘It is a very difficult bird 
to shoot, from it inhabiting the denser part of the 
scrub, from which it is not easily driven. It flies 
but little, rarely for a greater distance than to cross 
a gully or top a ridge before it again abruptly 
descends into the scrub. Its food consists of seeds 
and berries of various kinds, particularly in 
Tasmania of a plant called Boobyaller.’’? Its note 
is low and mournful, and is given at evening more 
than any other time. 
