( 
6° 
) 
The Spotted Greenland Dove. 
r T 1 HIS Bird is here figur’d of its natural Bignefs, by comparing it with the Green - 
land Dove of Willoughby, I find it agrees exadlly in Shape and Size with that, 
the Bill and Legs being the very fame as to Make, tho’ different in Colour, therefore 
I believe it to be a young Bird, before it has molted its firft Feathers, the old ones 
being Black, except a large White Spot in each Wing, and the Legs and Feet of a 
fine Red. The flying Bird, in this Plate, fhews the Black Greenland Dove , at a Dif- 
tance, by way of comparing it with this; the Bill is pretty long, of a dark or black 
Colour, a little bowed or hooked toward the Point; the whole under Side from Bill 
to Tail, is white, having very faint tranfverfe Bars of Afh-colour; the Top of the 
Head, upper Side of the Neck, Back and Tail, are of a dufky Black, with tranf¬ 
verfe Bars of a deep Black, the Quills are wholly Black, the Coverts above them 
tip’d with white; then fucceeds, a Row of Black, the lefler Coverts form a large 
Spot of White in the upper Part of the Wing, fprinkled with Black, the Ridge and 
upper Part of the Wing is border’d round with Black, the Legs and Feet are of a 
dirty Flefh-colour; it hath three Toes only, all ftanding forward, armed with fmall 
Claws and webed tegether; it hath alfo Fins bordering on the infides of the inner 
Toes. Albin has figur’d a Bird in his Second Vol. p. 73. which he calls the Cock 
Greenland Dove, and another in Vol. 1. p. 8i, which he calls the Hen; I believe 
he may have met with fomething like this Hen, there being fuch a Sort of Bird, but 
not the Hen of the Greenland Dove. Now I fuppofe he wanting a Cock to his Hen, 
and feeing in Willoughby the Colours were few and Ample, thought he might eafily 
make it out without feeing the Bird; fo he made a Plate for the Cock, which is only 
the diredt reverfe of his Hen, and'has colour’d it by Willoughby % Defcription, and 
having never feen the Cock, he fuppofed it to have a Bill like that he calls the Hen; 
whereas the Greenland Dove is a bigger Bird, and hath a pretty long (lender Bill, 
more than double the Length of his in Proportion. I thought it not amifs to redlify 
this Miftake in Mr. Albiris Works. 
3 had this Bird of Sir Hans Sloane , who kept it fome Time alive: It was prefented 
to him by Captain Craycott, who brought it diredtly from Greenland. 
If it be true, that this Bird changes White in Winter, as Willoughby s Defcription 
mentions, this might perhaps be taken in the Time it was changing from Black to 
White, or from White to Black. See this Bird in Willoughby y p. 326, Tab. 78. tho’ 
to me there fee ms no good Proof of its changing from one Colour to another. 
The 
