Part 100

Blue-headed Pigeon, Columba cyanocephala, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. ii. p. 411; v. v. p. 557.

GENUS III. ECTOPISTES, Swains. LONG-TAILED-DOVE.

Bill straight, of ordinary length, rather slender, broader than high at the base, with a tumid fleshy covering, compressed toward the end. Head small, oblong; neck of moderate length; body rather slender. Feet short; tarsus as short as the hind toe and claw, anteriorly scutellate; outer toe slightly shorter than inner; claws rather short, stout, arched, obtuse. Plumage compact above; blended, but firm beneath. Wings long; first and second quills longest, and about equal. Tail long, cuneate, pointed. Digestive organs as in the preceding genus.

288. 1. Ectopistes migratoria, Linn. Wandering Long-tailed-Dove.--Passenger Pigeon.

Plate LXII. Male and Female.

Twelve tail-feathers. Male with the upper part and sides of the head light blue; throat, fore neck, and breast, light brownish-red, sides and lower wing-coverts light blue, abdomen and lower tail-coverts white; upper parts greyish-blue; lower part of neck behind and along the sides changing to gold, emerald-green, and rich crimson; some of the wing-coverts with a black spot; quills and larger coverts blackish-brown; primaries edged with blue at the base, with reddish-white toward the end; middle tail-feathers bluish-black, the rest pale blue at the base, with a patch of red and a band of black on the inner web, white in the rest of their extent. Female with the tints much duller, the upper parts inclining to yellowish-brown, the dark spots on the wings more numerous, the lower parts pale greyish, anteriorly tinged with yellowish-brown. In a female examined, the anterior part of the tarsus has two rows of scales, while in a male that part is broadly scutellate.

Male, 16-1/4, 25. Female, 15, 23.

Wanders continually in search of food throughout all parts of North America. Wonderfully abundant at times in particular districts.

Columba migratoria, Linn. Syst. Nat. v. i. p. 285.

Passenger Pigeon, Columba migratoria, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. i. p. 102.

Columba migratoria, Bonap. Syn. p. 120.

Columba (Ectopistes) migratoria, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 363.

Passenger Pigeon, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 629.

Passenger Pigeon, Columba migratoria, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. i. p. 319; v. v. p. 561.

289. 2. Ectopistes Carolinensis, Linn. Carolina Long-tailed-Dove.

Plate XVII. Male and Female.

Fourteen tail-feathers. Male with the crown of the head and hind part of the neck light blue; fore neck and breast light purplish-red, sides and lower wing-coverts light blue, abdomen and lower tail-coverts pale yellow; upper parts light yellowish-brown; lower part of neck behind and along the sides changing to gold and purplish-red; some of the wing-coverts with a black spot; quills and larger coverts greyish-brown, inclining to greyish-blue at the base, and very narrowly edged with whitish; middle tail-feathers like the back, the rest blue at the base, bluish-white toward the end, with a black band intervening between the two colours. Female smaller, with the tints duller, the upper part of the head scarcely tinged with blue.

Male, 12, 17. Female, 11, 15-1/2.

Breeds from Texas to Massachusetts, and throughout the interior to the eastern bases of the Rocky Mountains, and again on the Columbia River. Common. Resident in all the Southern Districts.

Columba carolinensis, Linn. Syst. Nat. v. i. p. 286.

Carolina Pigeon or Turtle-Dove, Columba carolinensis, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. v. p. 91.

Columba carolinensis, Bonap. Syn. p. 119.

Carolina Pigeon or Turtle-Dove, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 626.

Carolina Turtle-Dove, Columba carolinensis, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. i. p. 91; v. v. p. 555.

FAMILY XXX. PAVONINÆ. PAVONINE BIRDS.

Bill rather short, moderately stout, broader than high at the base, somewhat compressed toward the end; upper mandible with its extremity arched, thin-edged, and obtuse; lower narrowed and blunt. Head partially denuded, rather small, oblong; neck long; body very large. Feet stout, rather long; tarsus anteriorly scutellate; hind toe elevated, anterior toes webbed at the base. Claws rather denuded, obtuse. Plumage full, the feathers with a very large plumule and short tube; those of the hind part of the back much developed. Wings of moderate length, convex, rounded. Tail very large, of more than twelve feathers. Tongue triangular, pointed; œsophagus dilated into an enormous crop; stomach a very powerful gizzard, roundish, or transversely elliptical, with very large muscles, and dense epithelium, having two concave grinding surfaces; intestines long, and rather wide; cœca very large, oblong, internally with elevated reticulated ridges. Trachea cylindrical, without inferior laryngeal muscles. Nest on the ground, rudely constructed. Eggs numerous. Young covered with stiffish down.

GENUS I. MELEAGRIS, Linn. TURKEY.

Bill rather short, moderately stout, nearly straight, broader than high at the base, somewhat compressed toward the end; upper mandible with the dorsal line sloping and straight, toward the end decurved, nasal membrane large and bare, ridge and sides rounded, edges sharp, without notch, tip thin-edged, rounded; lower mandible with the angle very long, and rather wide, the dorsal line slightly convex, the edges sharp toward the end, decurved, the tip thin-edged and obtuse. Nostrils linear, with a large horny operculum. Head bare, with a long fleshy wattle at the base of the bill; neck bare, carunculate, slightly feathered behind. Head small, oblong; neck rather long; body very full. Feet large and strong; tarsus rather long, stout, compressed, with two rows of scutella in front, and the same behind, where there is also a conical slightly recurved spur, about a third from the lower extremity; toes of moderate length, stout, scutella; first small and elevated; lateral about equal, third much longer; anterior webbed at the base. Claws of moderate length, stout, arched, somewhat compressed, obtuse. Plumage compact, glossy; feathers very broad and truncate; those of the rump elongated. Wings of moderate length, concave, much rounded, with the fourth and fifth quills longest; secondaries very long and broad. Tail rather long, very broad, much rounded, of fourteen or eighteen very broad, broadly rounded feathers. Œsophagus dilated into a very large crop; stomach transversely elliptical, extremely muscular; intestines long and wide; cœca very large, oblong.