198 COLUMBA GELASTIS. 



black spot with four white transverse streaks. Wings 

 above blackish, with broad rusty red edges to the 

 feathers, which give these parts a scaly appearance. 

 Tail rounded, black, with a broad whitish grey tip, 

 the web of the outer feathers grey; the middle nearly 

 free from the light tips. Back and upper parts blue; 

 head and breast whitish grey, with a rusty tinge, 

 especially in the breast; under tail coverts bluish 

 white. — Stockholm Museum. 



Young. Tail black, with a broad white tip, which 

 is absent on the middle feathers; wings, etc., dark 

 brown, with rusty yellow tips. Black spots on the sides 

 of the neck scarcely visible. — Stockholm Museum. 



This Dove, which was formerly only known in Japan, 

 has of late years been met with in Sweden. In 

 December, 1842, a young example was purchased in 

 Stockholm in a load of other birds from Herjeadalei, 

 where it was caught in the autumn. An older specimen 

 was sent down alive by a ship-builder, named J. 

 Peterson, of Piteo, to the Stockholm Museum. It 

 was caught in a forest tract a mile and a half Swedish 

 from the town. It was kept alive in Stockholm 

 some time, but died December 20th., 1853, and is 

 now preserved in the Museum as one of the rarest 

 and most handsome of Swedish birds. According to 

 Professor Sundevall, the note exactly resembles that of 

 the Turtle Dove, (consequently not laughing, as the 

 name would imply,) and the general appearance of the 

 two birds is so similar, that were it not for the size 

 it might easily be taken for a large variety of C 

 Turtur. Professor Sundevall imagines that besides 

 Japan it inhabits North-Eastern Asia, and that the 

 yearling bird, which was caught in Herjeadalei, was 

 hatched in the above-named province or in Lapland. 



