THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
pair reddish-brown, the outer ones chestnut-brown, tipped with white ; forehead, 
line behind the eye, and throat pale blue-grey, becoming darker on the lower throat, 
sides of neck and upper breast ; lower breast, abdomen and under tail-coverts white, 
more or less tinged with pink, especially on the breast ; under wing-coverts cinnamon- 
rufous, including the quill lining, the latter tipped with brown. “ Bill dull blue, iris 
pale yellow, bare skin round the eyes dull purple ; tarsus pinkish red, feet darker ” 
(J. P. Rogers). Total length, 300 mm.; culmen, 22; wing, 142; tail, 132; 
tarsus, 23. 
Adult female. Similar to the adult male with respect to the plumage, but smaller. Total 
length, 295 mm. ; culmen, 18 ; wing, 131 ; tail, 122 ; tarsus, 21. 
Immature female. Differs from the adult female in being much more barred on the upper- 
surface ; crown of head almost entirely covered with narrow barrings ; the median 
and greater coverts tipped with white, forming a more or less double wing-bar ; 
innermost secondaries narrowly tipped with white ; the blue-grey feathers of the 
chest more or less tinged with pink. 
I notice that this species varies more or less in the colour of the plumage, for two adult 
birds also from North-western Australia are somewhat paler than the specimen 
described. 
Nest. “ A loose, light structure or platform, three to four inches in diameter, composed of 
twigs, portions of climbing plants, and sometimes grass. Usually situated in a low 
tree or thick bush in scrub ” (Campbell). 
Eggs. Clutch, two : a clutch collected on the Dawson River, North Queensland, are pure 
white, smooth and glossy. Axis, 26-28 mm. ; diameter, 21. 
Breeding season. August to March (Campbell). 
I 
Gilbert* says : “ This Dove is extremely abundant, inhabiting thickets, 
swampy grounds, and the banks of running streams. It mostly feeds on the seeds 
of various kinds of grasses, but when the countrj^ becomes burnt it finds an 
abundant supply of berries in the thickets. It may often be seen among the 
mangroves in flocks of several hundreds, and hence its colonial name of Mangrove 
Dove. It was equally numerous during the whole period of my stay in that 
part of the country. [Port Essington, Northern Territory.] Any number of 
specimens may be readUy procured, for when disturbed the bird merely flits 
from branch to branch, or, if in an open part of the country, to the nearest tree. 
I did not observe it take anything approaching a sustained flight. Its most 
common note is a rather loud coo-coo, occasionally uttered at long intervals ; 
during the pairing season the note becomes of a softer tone, and is more rapidly 
repeated, and its actions very much resemble those of the Common Dove of 
Europe. It breeds in August.” 
The bird figured and described is a male, collected by Mr. J. P. Rogers at 
Parry’s Creek, Wyndham, North-west Australia, in September of 1908. 
* Gould’s Handb. B. Auatr., II., p. 142. 
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