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D. Seth-Smith—The Harlequin Bronzewing Pigeon



they first pass into the earth, then part of the cycle is passed in the

earthworms which are swallowed by the birds. They then make their

way from the intestines to the trachea. If this is the case, we should

be watchful in the use of earthworms when feeding them to Waders, etc.,

in case they come from bad ground and transmit the disease.



THE HARLEQUIN BRONZEWING PIGEON


The Emu for January, 1932, contains a coloured plate of the Flock

Pigeon or Harlequin Bronze wing (Histriophaps histrionica), a very

beautiful ground Pigeon that was once to be met with in countless

numbers at certain seasons in the Northern and Central parts of

Australia, but for many years past its numbers have been decreasing

as a result of sheep farming and the ease with which it may be shot

during its regular visits to some favourite drinking pool.


This is one of the most beautiful of the Australian Pigeons, its

upper surface being sandy brown, its breast and abdomen deep violet

grey. The primary features black tipped with white ; the secondaries

edged with metallic green and purple forming a speculum, as in the

other Bronzewings. The male has the forehead white and most of

the head and throat black with two lines of white on the side of the

head, and a large band of white on the lower throat. The female is

easily distinguished by the absence of black on the head which is

buff, the throat being blackish. The legs and feet are red.


It is a purely terrestrial species, never perching upon trees and

nesting upon the ground beneath a tussock or bush.


Very few examples appear to have been imported into this country

and I can only remember seeing one living example, but in 1865 three

specimens were presented to the Zoological Society of London by the

Acclimatization Society of Victoria, and there is a record of these

having bred in the Gardens the following year.


It is very interesting to notice the way in which certain Australian

species that were thought to have become extinct, or to be on the

verge of becoming so, have a way of reappearing when conditions

become more favourable to their existence, such as the cessation of



