PURPLE-CROWNED PIGEON. 



67 



Colombe Kurukuru. Temm. Pig. (8uo.) p. 280. 

 Purple-crowned Pigeon. Lath, Gen, Syn. 4. 626. 15. 



Length nine inches : beak yellowish : irides 

 pale yellow : forehead, to the middle of the crown, 

 purple : the head, neck, and under parts of the 

 body, are of a pale green, inclining to ash-colour : 

 vent and under tail- coverts yellow : all the upper 

 parts of the body of a beautiful deep green, and 

 very glossy : quills black ; the two outer ones 

 wholly so, the others edged with green ; the se- 

 condaries edged with yellow on their outer mar- 

 gins : the tail is three inches and a half long, the 

 feathers even, all of them somewhat pointed at the 

 end ; the colour greenish black, the outer edges 

 green : when the tail is expanded a greyish bar 

 appears near the end, composed of spots of that 

 colour on the inner webs of each feather : the legs 

 are very rough, and dusky black : claws black. 



This species is subject to considerable variety; 

 one is mentioned which came from the isle of 

 Timor, which had the forehead and occiput of a 

 dark violet purple, surrounded with a yellow band: 

 the green on the upper parts was of a dark blue 

 cast : the coverts fringed with yellow : the belly 

 and abdomen green : the feet of a reddish brown : 

 and the beak entirely black. The young of this 

 bird has the forehead of a greyish blue, surrounded 

 by a yellow olive band : the occiput, the neck, and 

 the breast, with tints of grey and dirty yellow : the 

 wings, the back, and the tail, of a deep dull green ; 

 the whole of the feathers are fringed with ochra- 



