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THE PIGEON HOLLANDAIS. 

 By Graham Renshaw, M.B., F.Z.S. 



Amid the general havoc of the French Revolution, the estab- 

 lishment maintained at the Jardin des Plantes was the only 

 institution respected by the Paris mob. The zoologist who 

 visits the natural history museum of the French capital will 

 find much to interest him. Here may be seen the Quagga, 

 probably the actual specimen once in the King's menagerie at 

 Versailles ; the Indian Rhinoceros, whose anatomy was investi- 

 gated by the famous Vicq d'Azyr in 1793 ; the Blaauwbok 

 Antelope, extinct since 1800 ; the Giraffe which, sent to Paris 

 by the Pasha of Egypt, in its day was .a celebrity which 

 thousands of people nocked to see ; the Black Emeu, of which 

 but one other stuffed example is known ; a curious model of 

 the Dodo of Mauritius ; and, last but not least, the Pigeon 

 Hollandais. 



The Pigeon Hollandais, or Mauritius Dove (Alectorcenas 

 nitidissima) — the Hackled Pigeon of some writers — is an extinct 

 species, which just survived long enough to be collected and 

 described by scientific ornithologists. Belonging to a small 

 group of arboreal Pigeons inhabiting the Seychelles and adjacent 

 islands, the present species was remarkable in displaying in its 

 plumage the three colours of the Dutch flag — hence, probably, 

 its popular name. The bill was crimson, tipped with yellow; 

 the iris (and a bare space surrounding the eye) was also crimson ; 

 the sides of the face were naked and flesh-coloured. The head 

 and neck were white, and decorated with long hackles, which 

 were, however, narrow and pointed, and shone with a peculiar 

 gloss ; the back, wings, and belly were deep indigo -blue ; the 

 rump, tail- coverts, and tail were crimson, while the legs and the 

 powerful feet were bluish black. The length of the Pigeon 

 Hollandais was about 13£ in. The remarkable appearance of 

 this bird, and the rapidity with which it was exterminated 

 unknown to naturalists, render it a very interesting species for 

 study. 



