190 
COLUMBINE. COLUMBA. 
marginate ; the first short, the lateral nearly equal, all 
scutellate above. Claws moderate, arched, compressed, 
rather blunt. Plumage generally compact, the feathers 
with thick spongy shaft, and destitute of plumule. Wings 
and tail various. Tongue rather broad at the base, toward 
the end narrow, horny, induplicate, pointed ; oesophagus 
very wide, enlarged into an enormous crop ; stomach a 
very large and strong gizzard, placed obliquely, its lateral 
muscles exceedingly thick, the lower prominent, the tendons 
very large, the epithelium dense, with longitudinal broad 
rugas, and two opposite grinding surfaces ; intestine long, of 
moderate width ; coeca very small ; cloaca oblong. Trachea 
simple, flattened, with a single pair of inferior laryngeal 
muscles. Nest flat, rudely constructed. Eggs two, ellip- 
tical, white. 
GENUS I. COLUMBA, Linn. DOVE. 
Bill straight, rather short, slender, compressed ; upper 
mandible with the dorsal line straight at the base, convex 
toward the end, the nostrils linear, oblique, covered with a 
fleshy bare membrane, the edges sharp toward the end, with 
a distinct notch, the tip narrow, sharp-edged, rounded ; 
lower mandible with the angle long and pointed, the sides 
erect, the base sloping outwards toward the end, the edges 
sharp, the tip narrow, but blunt. Head small, oblong, com- 
pressed ; neck of moderate length ; body full. Feet short, 
strong ; tarsus very short, roundish, with a single row of 
scutella above, and two anterior rows of large hexagonal 
scales ; toes beneath rather slender, broad and flat beneath, 
marginate, with large scutella ; hind toe smallest, lateral 
about equal. Claws of moderate size, arched, compressed, 
acute. Plumage rather compact above, blended beneath ; 
wings long, pointed, the second and third quills longest. 
Tail of moderate length, rounded, of twelve broad rounded 
feathers. 
