1058 The American Naturalist. [December 
in the places of their choosing. A large number of species of 
swallows, king-fishers, raptorial birds, range so widely as to 
make it impossible to say that they really belong to one island 
or group of islands rather than toanother. In some instances, 
therefore, we find an interchange of habitat. 
The pigeons form a very large chapter in the Natural His- 
tory of New Guinea. They are many in number and species, 
(more than 80 are known) of all sizes and characteristics, and 
are found pretty generally throughout the vast island. Many 
of the kinds distributed in different quarters in Australia are 
to be seen in Papua, while several are peculiar to the latter 
and never found in Australia at all. Almost all phases of ` 
columbar development, therefore, may be studied in this 
region, which ornithologically speaking, is, as has been shown 
in divers instances, singularly favored. Foremost among the 
pigeons is the splendid Goura coronata, whose stately form 
is now not uncommon in zoological gardens. It is very large 
for a pigeon, as large oftentimes as the domestic turkey, very 
slow in its movements and quiet in its disposition. Its lovely 
dark blue plumage and the peculiar but beautiful crown, are 
its chief claims to renown among the many other wonders of 
its habitat, while its great size distinguishes it among its own 
kind. The crest is certainly very remarkable, imparting to its 
wearer a look that no other species of its tribe, indeed no other 
bird, possesses. It hasthe appearance of a bunch of long, del- 
icate leaves from which all the pulpy matter has been re- 
moved. There appears to be rather individual than specific 
differences in the crests. The crest of Goura victoriae may be 
thicker towards the top, the thin feathers spreading out into 
little fans, but this appearance is notinvariable. On the other 
hand Goura albertisi boasts a crest fully as large and tall, but 
the spatulas instead of flowering out as it were, remain of an 
even texture throughout their length. Yet in this case also, 
the distinction is not certain. A surer mark of difference be- 
tween the two species is the white on the wings, this color be- 
ing particularly noticeable in the albertisi. 
A dark gray-blue is the dominating color; this becomes paler 
on the tail, and finally makes a bluish-white band. Whitish 
