PIGEON. 103 



polished steel ; greater quills rufous within, and brown on the outer 

 webs and tips; the second quills brown, edged with grey; tail 

 greatly cuneiform, the two middle feathers four inches and a half 

 long, the outer one very short ; the long ones blackish brown, with 

 a rufous tinge ; the rest grey from the base, and blackish at the 

 ends; beneath black, except the outer one, which has the outside and 

 tip white; legs red. 



The female is smaller, and has the throat and fore part of the 

 neck of the same colour as the head ; mottled with brown on the 

 breast ; the crown waved with brown, and particularly the wing, 

 marked with crescents of brown and black, and appears in this state 

 a most beautiful bird; the greater wing coverts not tipped with black. 



Inhabits Africa, both at the Cape of Good Hope, and Senegal, 

 and probably in all the southern parts of that quarter ; makes the 

 nest in bushes, of a moderate height, of sticks, like most of the tribe; 

 the eggs but two in number, white, and so transparent, that the 

 colour of the yolk may be seen through the shell. We have noticed 

 several variations ; in some the forehead is black ; one had a stripe 

 of white across the head, and down each side of the neck, a bar of 

 white across the rump, and the spots on the wing blue green, instead 

 of black. In another specimen a crescent of very pale ash-colour 

 on the breast, and the sides, beneath the eye, mottled cinereous and 

 black. In the PI. enlum. the forehead is dusky black, sides of the 

 neck from the eye to the wing fine pale, mixed grey ; wing coverts 

 and rump fine blue grey ; tail wholly black ; and the under parts 

 from the breast pure white. 



Thunberg says, it is frequent in the gardens at the Cape, and 

 feeds on seeds, he calls it Maquas Duye, and Namaqua Dove. One 

 at Mr. Brogden's was brought from Senegal, but in this the whole 

 face to the eyes, as well as the throat, and neck before, was black. 



