Birds of Celebes: Treronidae. 
629 
Vorderman el4)- Karimon- Java Is. (Koorders elS )- Tenimber Islands (H. O^Forbes 
9 22, Riedel in Leyd. M.); Halmahera, PTernate, Morty, Ceram, Amboina, PWeeda, 
Matabello, Waigiou, Salawatti, Misol, Kei, Am, North-west New Guinea, Karimtua 
Id. near Sorong, Karanton (S. Muller, v. Rosenb., Wallace etc. S, ^Oj. 
Like Carpophaga concima and pickeringi and Caloenas nicoharica thus white 
Pigeon is of what w'e have called insular habits. On the whole it aioids the 
large islands, and when it occurs on them it is at such points as are near t e 
sea, such as the Northern Peninsula of Celebes and the Western Peninsula ot 
New Guinea. It certainly seems to have a predilection for small islands; thus, 
when the “Marchesa” passed close to Bancoran — “a lonely lagoon islet of the 
San Miguel group — its lofty trees appeared literally covered with thousands 
of snow-white birds, which from their colour and flight could have been none 
other than the Bornean Nutmeg Pigeon ( Mgristicivora hicolorf \ while Davison 
fe 9) speaks of it as occurring on some of the Nicohars in almost mcredible 
numbers, though on other islands of the group it is absent. Mr. Whitehead 
{e 18) writes: “This beautiful Pigeon is seldom met with on large is an s, ut 
loves to frequent the small islands round the coast, in Avhich it at times fairly 
swarms. It affects the tops of the high fruit-hearing forest-trees , when on 
looking up sometimes you may sec a tree fairly alive with them, and the birds 
themselves squabbling, feeding, and driving one another about from branch to 
branch” Meyer writes in his diary that great flocks of this pigeon were to 
be seen literally hanging in white clusters on the waringm trees near the shore 
of Manado tua, an island w’hich it takes a few hours to boat round. Ihe pre- 
ference of these Pigeons for small islands is a mystery. Do they assemble thus 
on small islands for protection against Birds-of-prey, feeling strength in numbers 
like a flock of sheep, or against the ravages of lizards and small mammals on 
their nests? _ . . , . . 
Moreover, these sociable Pigeons are not stationary in most ot their tropical 
island-haunts; and no wonder, for it is evident that such masses of individuals 
must soon eat up an island, so far as their peculiar fruit-food is concerned. 
There were none on Great Cocos when Hume was there, but the lighthouse- 
keeper told him they appeared at certain seasons in great numbers, and 
Davison, going about a month later, found them abundant. Hume remarks 
that “to the Andamans and the Great Cocos, Barren Island and Narcondam it 
is a seasonal visitant”. Among the wooded islands to the south of the Malay 
Peninsula it is not uncommon “at certain seasons”, according to Kelham (e 12). 
Whitehead (e IS) has “often seen them at sea, making flights from island to 
island, no doubt in quest of fresh fruit-trees”; and Meyer (7) observed them crossing 
the broad sea-arms which separate the different small islands near Manado. So 
also during the Voyage of H. M. S. “Ply” (1847, 157) J. B. Jukes observed white 
Pitreons, which he calls C. luctuosa (probably C. spilorrhoa), migrating in nume- 
rous smlll flocks across the islands of Torres Straits. And yet there are writers 
who will point to such a bird as this for proof that the islands it inhabits must 
