TRIANGULAR SPOTTED PIGEON. 213 
These birds, in fact, associate in large bands, and 
attack the crops of grain on all sides, which they 
only leave on retiring to roost in the woods or rocks. 
It is almost impossible to give a good idea, by 
words, of the inharmonious, we had almost said the 
disagreeable, colouring of this species, and it would 
be equally difficult to do so by the pencil. The 
head, body beneath from the breast, outer half of 
the wings, edges of the quills, and the tail-covers, 
are all lead-colour or cinereous, while the back part 
of the neck, the scapulars, back, and basal half of 
the wings are vinaceous or brownish rufous ; these 
are the two ground colours ; the lower part of the 
back is very light plumbeus, almost white. Each of 
the feathers of the wing-covers, which are near the 
back, ends in a central and triangular white spot ; 
the margins of the outer tail-feathers are white nearly 
to the tip, the rest are plumbeus ; they all have one 
broad bar at the end, and a very narrow obsolete 
one in the middle : the feathers of the throat and 
breast are vinaceous, tipt with whitish lead-colour, 
with their ends bifid, as if part of the shaft was 
broken off. Feet large and strong, and dark flesh- 
colour ; bill blackish ; orbits large, naked, and 
crimson. 
Total length, 11^ inches ; bill, from the base, ; 
wings, 8|-, and extending half an inch beyond the 
tail ; middle toe and claw, 1 
