Order C0LUMBIF0RME8 
No. 41. 
Family COLUMBID^. 
PETROPHASSA ALBIPENNIS. 
ROCK-PIGEON. 
(Plate 38.) 
Petrophassa ALBIPENNIS Gould, P.Z.S., p. 173 (1840), Western Australia. 
Petroyhassa albipennis Gould, P.Z.S., p. 173 (1840) ; Gould, B. Austr., V., PI. 71 (1843) ; 
Bonaparte, Consp. Av., II., p. 87 (1855) ; Gould, Handb. B. Austr., II., p. 141 
(1865) ; Ramsay, P.L.S., N.S.W., I., p. 184 (1876) ; id., Tab. List Austr. B., p. 18 (1888); 
Salvadori, Gat. B. Brit. Mus., XXI., p. 530 (1893) ; CoUett, P.Z.S., p. 353 (1898) ; 
Campbell, Nests and Eggs Austr. B., p. 688 (1901) ; Gibson and North, Rec. Austr. 
Mus., V., p. 269 (1904) ; Hall, Key B. Austr., p. 71 (1906) ; Mathews, Handl. B. 
Austral., p. 11 (1908) ; Hill, Emu, X., p. 263 (1911). 
Peristera albipennis Finsch, Neu-Guinea, p. 179 (1865). 
Phaps albipennis, Giebel, Thes. Orn., III., p. 88 (1877). 
Distribution. North-western Australia ; Northern Territory. 
Adult female. General colour of the upper-surface rufous-brown, with pale edges to the 
feathers ; crowm of the head blackish-brown, -svith whitish margins to the feathers ; 
neck all round, breast and sides of the face grey, with rufous-brown edges to the 
feathers ; lores and a narrow line at the base of the forehead velvety-black ; the 
feathers of the chm and throat black, with white pear-shaped tips ; bastard- 
wing and primary-coverts blackish, the latter dusted with white towards the tips ; 
primary quills white at the base, becoming darker towards the tips, the inner ones 
dusted with brown and shaded with rufous ; secondary quills entirely brown, 
somewhat darker on the inner webs ; the innermost secondaries like the back ; 
some dark metallic-purple spots are indicated on one or two of the inner major- 
coverts and long scapular feathers ; tail rufous-brown, the outer feathers inclining 
to blackish ; abdomen, sides of the body, under tail-coverts, axillaries an^ under 
wing-coverts blackish, with pale margins to the feathers ; tail and quills below 
blackish, the latter with white bases ; “ Bill black ; iris dark brown ; tarsi and 
feet blacldsh -brown ” (J. P. Rogers). Total length, about 310 mm. ; culmen, 20 ; 
wing, 135 ; tail, 120 ; tarsus, 20. 
Nest. “ A slight hoUow about two inches in depth scooped in the ground near a small tuft 
of spinifex, or stone, and lined with soft dead grass ” (Gibson), 
Eggs. '' Clutch two ; oval in form, the shell being close-grained, smooth, and lustrous, cream- 
colour or creamy-white. Dimensions in inches 1.16 to 1.07 by .86 to 83 ” (North). 
Breeding season, July (Gibson) ; September (?) ; October (Hill). 
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