390 CoLUMB^. BIRDS. Pigeons. 
niimbevs as tliey return to their roosting-place in the 
evening, and they afford an abundant supply of food to 
both beasts and birds of prey. Audubon’s account of 
a nocturnal hattue of these birds, at which he assisted, 
Pig. 122. 
The Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius). 
is most animated and interesting, but too long for 
insertion here. 
The Passenger Pigeon — fig. 122 — has long, pointed 
wings, and a large, w'edge-shaped tail. Its colour 
above is bluish-gray ; the sidles of the neck are reddish 
chestnut, with brilliant golden-green, and purple tints ; 
the wings are lead-gray, and the coverts exhibit a few 
black spots ; the chin is bluish-gray, and the remainder 
of the lower surface chestnut, becoming paler on the 
belly, and leaving the vent and lower tail-coverts white ; 
the two middle tail-feathers are blackish brown, and 
the remainder white, more or less tinged with gray and 
lead colour, especially towards the base. In its general 
characters it much resembles our common Turtle 
Dove. Its length is from sixteen to seventeen inches. 
THE TURTLE DOVE ( Turtnr auritus), an abundant 
species in Europe, Asia, and Africa, is a summer visitor 
to this country, in the southern parts of which it is not 
uncommon. It is of a light brown colour above, and 
still paler beneath, with the belly and vent white ; the 
top of the head is of a bluish-ash colour ; on each side 
of the neck there are four rows of black feathers, tipped 
with white, which form four oblique bars ; the wing- 
coverts are dark brown, with broad reddish-brown 
margins ; the twm central tail-feathers are dark brown, 
tipped with white ; the remainder are paler, and the 
outermost on each side has its external web white. 
The Turtle Dove builds a slight nest in a bush or tree, 
usually about eight or ten feet from the ground. In 
this the female laj's two eggs ; and in this country 
the birds produce onl}' one brood in the season, but 
in warmer climates they are described as laying 
twice. The voice of this species is a tender and 
mournful cooing. 
THE COLLARED TURTLE DOVE (Turtur risorius), 
a native of the warm regions of Africa and Asia, is a 
smaller species than the preceding, measuring only 
about ten inches in length. It is of a very pale and 
delicate grayish-brown colour, with a sort of black 
collar surrounding the back of the neck. This bird 
has been domesticated, or at least bred in captivity, 
from time immemorial, especially in the East. 
THE GRACEFUL GROUND-DOVE {Geopelia ctmeata), 
the Turtle Dove of the colonists of Swan River, is 
an inhabitant of most parts of Australia, where it is 
a general favourite. It is a very elegant little bird, 
measuring only eight inches in length, including a long 
tail ; its general colour is a cinnamon-brown above, 
and a delicate gray beneath ; the latter is also the colour 
of the head and neck. The wing-coverts and scapulars 
are marked with numerous rvhite spots encircled with 
black lines, and the outer graduated tail-feathers are 
white except at the base. The eye is red, and sur- 
rounded by a rather broad circle of naked red skin. 
This elegant little pigeon lives principally on the ground, 
searching for the seeds which constitute its food. Its 
note is said by Mr. Gilbert to resemble the distant 
crowing of a cock. 
THE MAGNIFICENT FRUIT-PIGEON {Carpophaga 
magnifica ) — Plate 17, fig. 63 — one of the most splendid 
of its tribe, is found abundantly in the south-eastern 
parts of Australia, especially in the brushes about the 
Macquarrie and Clarence rivers. It measures about 
sixteen inches in length, and has the head and neck 
of a delicate pale gray colour, and the whole of the 
upper .surface and wings rich golden-green, with bright 
yellow patches upon the greater wing-coverts and ter- 
tiaries, forming an irregular band across the wing ; the 
tail is bronzed green ; from the chin a deep purple line 
passes down the centre of the throat, and joins a large 
patch of the same rich colour, which occupies the breast 
and belly, and is followed behind by a band of orange- 
yellow covering the lower part of the flanks, the 
vent and the thighs, whilst the under tail-coverts are 
greenish-yellow. It is a shy bird, but has a hoarse, 
loud, and monotonous note, by which its presence is 
often betrayed. Its food consists chiefly of wild figs 
and the fruits of palms, in search of which it passes 
nearly the whole of its time on trees. 
