ZENAIDA DOVE. 367 
spotted with black, the spots being large and roundish ; the 
exterior wing-coverts, spurious wing and quill feathers, are 
blackish; the primaries are edged with white externally, 
and, with the exception of the outer ones, at tip also; the 
secondaries are broadly terminated with white; the chin is 
yellowish white; the whole inferior surface is bright vinaceous, 
paler on the throat, and gradually passing into richer on the 
belly ; the flanks and under wing-coverts are delicate lilac, 
and the under tail-coverts are mixed with the same colour, 
some of the longest being entirely lilac, which is also found 
at the base of the plumage on the belly and rump; the wings 
are six inches and a quarter long; reaching within one inch 
of the tip of the tail; the primaries are entire on both vanes ; 
the first is longer than the fourth, the second longest, though 
scarcely longer than the third; the tail is four and a half 
inches long, composed of twelve broad, full, rounded feathers, 
extending but one inch beyond their coverts; it is nearly even, 
and of the colour of the body, with a broad black band at two- 
thirds of its length, obsolete on the two middle feathers 
(which are of the colour of the body), purer on the three ex- 
terior; the lateral feathers are pearl grey for half an inch 
towards the tip, the outer plume being, moreover, of that 
colour on the outer vane; all the tail-feathers are blackish on 
the inferior surface to within three-quarters of an inch of 
their tips. The feet are red ; the nails blackish ; the tarsus 
measures three-quarters of an inch in length. 
The female is very similar to the male in size and colour ; 
the head, however, is but slightly tinged with vinaceous, the 
golden violet reflections of the neck are not quite so vivid, and 
the inferior surface of a paler vinaceous, but graduated as in 
the male. The lateral tail-feathers are also much more uniform 
with the middle one, and of course with the back, the three 
outer only on each side being pearl grey at tip. This latter 
character, however, we should rather attribute to age than sex, 
if we had not good reason to believe that our female is a per- 
fectly adult bird. 
