OnKr IV. COLUMB^, 
Family CoLU^rBID^. 
The second Subfamily, 
COLUMBINE, or Pigeons, 
have the Bill moderate, slender, "with the basal portion covered with a soft tumid skin, and the apical 
part hard and slightly vaulted, and acute at the tip ; the Nostrils forming a longitudinal slit in the fore 
part of the soft basal portion of the bill ; the Wings moderate and pointed ; the Tail of various lengths, 
and generally rounded ; the Tarsi generally short ; the Toes lengthened, the lateral ones mostly equal, 
and the hind toe about the length of the tarsus. 
Carpophaga Selbi/.* 
Bill moderate, slender, with the base depressed, the tip compressed and moderately arched, and 
the margin slightly sinuated ; the nostrils placed in the soft basal portion of the bill, and forming a 
longitudinal slit. Wmgs moderate and pointed ; with the second, third, and fourth qiulls nearly equal, 
and longest. Tail lengthened, and generally rounded. Tarsi very short, and clothed with down below 
the knee. Toes strong, and broadly padded below ; with the outer toe longer than the inner, and the hind 
toe much developed. 
The species of this genus are found in the forests of India, the Moluccas, Celebes, Australia, and the islands of the 
Pacific. They live on the branches of the highest trees, seeking the various fruits and berries that grow on them. 
When compelled to remove to a fresh locality for their food, they travel generally in smaU flocks, at an elevation suffi- 
cient to clear the tops of the high trees of the primeval forests. Some of the species feed on the nutmeg, or rather its 
soft covering, generally known as the mace. The fniit, according to Sonnerat, is swallowed entire, passes unin- 
jured through the digestive organs of the bird, and is thus dispersed throughout the group of the ^Moluccas and other 
islands of the East. Tiiis process is supposed to be necessary for the germination of the nutmeg. The nest is formed 
of sticks laid together in cross rows, whereon the female deposits one or two eggs. 
1. C. cenea (Linn.) Selby, Temm. Pig. t. 3, 4., Voy. deTUranie, 
t. 29- — Columba pacifica Gmcl. 
2. C. oceanica (Less.) Selby, Voy. de la Coqu. t. -il., Kittl. Kupf. 
der Vogel, t. 33. f. 1., Knip et Prev. Pig t. 24. — Col. globicera 
Forst. Icon. ined. t. 139. 
3. C. myristicivora (Scop.) Sonn. Voy. t. 103. — Columba alba 
Gmel. ; Columba littoralis Temm. Pig. t 7. 
4. C. lucti/osa (Temm.) Selby, PI. col. 24?., Gould's B. of 
Austr. pi., Knip et Prev. Pig. t. 40. 
5. C. norfolciensis (Lath.) — Columba leucomela Temm. Pi. col. 
186., Gould's B. of Austr.pl., Knip et Prev. Pig. t. 28. 
6. C. magnifica (Temm.) Selby, PI. col l63., Knip et Prev. 
Pig. t. 2.5. 
7. C. purlin (Less.) Knip et Prev. Pig., t. 1. 
8. C. novce zealandicr (Gmel.) — Columba zealandica Lath. ; 
Columba argetraea Forst. Icon, ined. t. 137- ; Columba princeps 
Vigors, Jard. & Selby, 111. Orn. n. s. pi. 5.? 
Q. C. spadicea (Lath.) Temm. Pig. t. 1., Gould's B. of Austr. pi. 
— Columba leucogaster Wagl. 
10. C. Pino?! (Quoy & Gaim.) Selby, Voy. de I'Uranie, Ois. t. 28., 
Knip et Prev. Pig. t. 15. 
11. C. badia (Raffl.) Linn. Trans, xiii. 317. — Columba capi- 
strata Temm. PI. col. l65., Knip et Prev. Pig. t. 37- 
12. C. imignis (Hodgs.) As. Res. xix. 1 0'l . — Type of Ducida 
Hodgs. (1836.) 
13. C.janthina (Temm.) PL col. 503., Knip et Prev. Pig. t. l6., 
i Kittl. Kupf. der Vogel, t. 5. f. 1. 
! 14. C. i)er*piCi7/a<a (Temm.) PI. col. 246". 
* Established by Mr. Selby (Xat. Libr. Or/nV/i. vol. v. p. 112.) in 1835. Mr. Hodgson's genus Ducula (1836) (As. Res. xix. l60.), 
since changed to Rinopus (1841) by the same author, is coequal. 
