ALSOCOMUS PUNICEUS. 
697 
states that it is only found “ in the eastern portion of Central India, extending to near the sea-eoast in Midna- 
pore, and probably southwards towards Cuttaek.” He was of opinion that it was more common in the countries 
to the east of the Bay of Bengal, in Assam, Arracan, and Tenasserim, and instances the island of Ramree, off 
the coast of Arrakau, where it is numerous. I do not find, however, that it is common on the Irrawaddy 
delta, for Dr. Armstrong procured but one specimen in evergreen forest near China Ba-keer. In Tenasserim 
it is, according to Messrs. Hume and Davison, sparingly distributed throughout the northern and central parts 
of the province. The latter gentleman, in fact, writes of it, “ I have found this Pigeon very rare in Tenasserim, 
meeting with one now and then, and always singly. Captain Bingham tells me that they are not rare in the 
Sinzaway reserve forest on the Younzaleen.” Tickell met with it in Singhhum, and Captain Beavan procured 
it in Maunbhum, on the banks of the river Cossye; elsewhere in the same region Mr. Ball has seen it on the 
Mahan river and its tributaries in Sirguja, but finding it very shy did not procure a specimen. 
Habits . — Tickell met with the “ Purple Wood- Pigeon” in small parties of four or five, always along the 
banks of rivers which were shaded by forest trees. It is, according to Jerdon, wary and difiicult of approach ; 
and the observations of subsequent naturalists corroborate this statement. In the ' Birds of India ’ it is stated 
to feed on the fruit of the Jamoon {Eugenia jamb olana) morning and evening, and to roost, during the heat of 
the day, on the uppermost branches of lofty trees. Captain Beavan found that it likewise subsisted on the 
fruit of the Strychnos nux-vomica ; he writes that “ it is excessively wary and can seldom be procured, except 
by a flying shot, as the birds dart out of the thick foliage oii hearing a step below them on the ground.’^ 
We learn nothing concerning its nidification from any source, and its eggs, therefore, remain to be 
described. 
Genus COLIJMBA. 
Bill longer and more compressed than in the last genus ; tumid portion swollen. Wings 
long and firm, the 2nd quill the longest. Tail rather short, very firm and rounded at the tip. 
Tarsi and feet more slender than in Palumhm, but with the claws short and very deep. 
4u 
