THE BIRDS OF LIBERIA 671 
Turturoena iriditorques (Cassin). Gaboon Bronze-necked Pigeon 
Columba iriditorques Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1856, p. 254: St. Paul’s River, Gaboon. 
Male: head blue-gray with green reflections, a coppery collar, iridescent; below vinaceous, 
under tail-coverts chestnut; tail with a buffy tip, the lateral feathers with chestnut inner webs. 
Female smaller with brown head and under side, the breast feathers minutely punctate. Feet 
pink, eye ring red. West Africa, Liberia to Angola. 
With the general appearance of a small blue pigeon, this seems to be an un- 
common species near the coast towns. At all events we did not find it about 
Monrovia, and Lowe regarded it as a rare bird on the southern coast, where he 
saw in all four at Nana Kru and Settra Kru. Bittikofer and Stampfli, however, 
obtained a few on the Junk and the Du rivers. In August we found it common 
on the Farmington River at Lenga Town in pairs or small groups. The crop of 
one was filled with small black seeds the size of No. 6 shot. Kemp (1905) re- 
gards it as scarce in eastern Sierra Leone, and our experience was that it became 
rare or absent toward the eastern part of Liberia. 
Streptopelia semitorquata erythrophrys (Swainson). West African Red-eyed Dove 
Turtur erythrophrys Swainson, Birds West Africa, vol. 2, p. 207, pl. 22, 1837: Senegal. 
Forehead, rump, and under tail-coverts pale blue-gray; breast and neck vinaceous; above 
olive green. A black crescent on the hind neck; tip of tail white; a dusky band crosses the middle 
of the tail above. West Africa. 
This is the common and characteristic dove, found in a variety of country, 
open tree growth or plantations, and is somewhat partial to the vicinity of clear- 
ings, where it feeds on the ground in small parties. In general, however, it avoids 
the heavy forest. Its usual note consists of two coos with the accent on the 
second, followed by a slightly crescendo series of four more, in precisely the same 
cadence as the nursery rhyme ‘‘One, two; buckle my shoe.’ After some six to 
ten repetitions it ends with two coos in a low tone. Biittikofer found its eggs in 
December, but the season of nesting doubtless commences earlier for I found 
a pair building on September 24, using the bushed-out top of a tall stump as 
a nest-site. 
Tympanistria tympanistria fraseri Bonaparte. West African Tambourine Dove 
Tympanistria frasert Bonaparte, Conspec. Av., vol. 2, p. 67, 1855: Fernando Po. 
Forehead, eye stripe, and under side of body clear white; above olive brown with metallic 
blue spots on wing; under tail-coverts dark brown, wings underneath, and axillaries rufous. 
Female differs in having a blue-gray wash across upper breast. Bill black; feet dull garnet. 
West Africa. 
This beautiful little ground dove is much less plentiful than the following, 
and is a bird of thick cover, either second growth and nearly impenetrable scrub 
or high forest with undergrowth. The few that I saw were single birds. The 
crop of one secured at Paiata contained many small black berries. Biittikofer 
records it from the Junk River, Hill Town, and Robertport as occasional, and 
mentions having several times seen it sitting in high forest trees. No doubt to it 
should be attributed a deliberate ground-dove song often heard in the warmest 
