Part 40

PETROPHASSA ALBIPENNIS, Gould. White-quilled Rock Dove.

Petrophassa albipennis, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 173.

This highly singular species of Pigeon is an inhabitant of the most rugged, rocky and sterile districts of the north-west coast of Australia. The specimens in my possession were sent me by the Officers of the Beagle, but, I regret to say, were unaccompanied by any particulars respecting their history. The form of the wing would lead us to imagine that in many parts of its economy this species much resembles those of the members of the genus Geophaps; but on these points nothing can be ascertained with certainty, until the productions of those remote parts of Australia have been carefully investigated, a period which, from the inhospitable character of the country, I fear is far distant.

Crown of the head and neck greyish brown, margined with sandy brown; all the upper surface, chest and tail rufous brown, the centre of each feather inclining to grey; lores black; abdomen and under tail-coverts chocolate brown; throat clothed with small feathers white at the tip, black at the base; primaries dark brown at their tips, the basal half pure white; bill and irides blackish brown; feet reddish brown.

The Plate represents a male and a female of the natural size.

GEOPELIA HUMERALIS.

J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith. C. Hullmandel Imp. ]

GEOPELIA HUMERALIS. Barred-shouldered Ground-Dove.

Columba humeralis, Temm. Pl. Col. 191.

Mangrove Pigeon, resident at Port Essington.

There are reasons for believing that the Geopelia humeralis inhabits the whole of the vast interior of Australia as well as the neighbourhood of the coasts of its northern and eastern portions. In New South Wales it is sparingly dispersed over the Liverpool Plains, where some of the specimens I possess were obtained, while others were procured at Port Essington. As the structure of its legs would indicate, it passes much of its time on the ground, feeding on the seeds of various kinds of grasses and leguminous plants. Not only is it one of the most elegant of the Dove tribe inhabiting Australia, but it is also one of the most tame and docile, if I may judge from the few I observed on the heated plains of New South Wales: their confidence was such that they sometimes perched within two yards of the spot where I was sitting; extreme thirst and a scanty supply of water may, however, have rendered them more tame and bold than they otherwise would have been.

Mr. Gilbert states that at Port Essington “this Pigeon is extremely abundant, inhabiting thickets, swampy grounds, and the banks of running streams. It mostly feeds on the seeds of various kinds of grasses, but when the country becomes burnt it finds an abundant supply of berries in the thickets. It may often be seen among the mangroves in flocks of several hundreds, and hence its colonial name of Mangrove Pigeon. It was equally numerous during the whole period of my stay in that part of the country. Any number of specimens may be readily procured, for when disturbed the bird merely flits from branch to branch, or if in an open part of the country to the nearest tree. I did not on any occasion observe it take anything approaching a sustained flight. Its most common note is a rather loud coo-coo, occasionally uttered at long intervals; during the pairing-season the note becomes of a softer tone, and is more rapidly repeated, and its actions very much resemble those of the Domestic Pigeon of Europe. It breeds in August, and makes a very slight nest of slender twigs, loosely and carelessly laid across each other on two or three of the lower leaves of the Pandanus, the upper leaves of which afford it a shelter from the rays of the sun, and from the rain; the eggs are two in number of a delicate fleshy-white.”

The sexes are alike in colouring.

Forehead, cheeks, sides of the neck and breast delicate grey; occiput, back, wing-coverts, rump and upper tail-coverts silky brown; back of the neck rufous, every feather of the upper surface bounded at the extremity with a narrow band of black, giving the whole a squamated or scaled appearance; under surface of the shoulder and the inner webs, except their tips, of the primaries and secondaries fine rust-red; outer webs and tips of the inner webs of the primaries and secondaries brown; two centre tail-feathers dark grey, the remainder reddish brown at the base, gradually increasing in intensity towards their tips, those next the centre ones washed with grey on their outer webs, and all but the centre ones largely tipped with white; centre of the abdomen white; the remainder of the under surface washed with vinous; irides ochre-yellow; bill and nostrils delicate mealy light blue; naked skin round the eye mealy purple; legs and feet pink red.

The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size.

GEOPELIA TRANQUILLA: Gould.

J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith. Hullmandel & Walton Imp. ]

GEOPELIA TRANQUILLA, Gould. Peaceful Dove.

Geopelia placida, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XII. p. 56.

The interior of the country northward from New South Wales is inhabited by considerable numbers of this pretty little Dove, but it has not yet been met with either in Southern or Western Australia. It was very abundant on the Namoi, particularly on the lower part of that river; and that its range will extend over a large part of the interior, is more than probable.

A bird precisely similar in markings, but of a smaller size, is very abundant at Port Essington, and the two birds may prove to be mere varieties of each other; at the same time, as so great a variation in size rarely if ever occurs in a state of nature, I have for the present considered it to be a distinct species, and assigned to it the name of Geopelia placida; it is nearly one-third less than the bird here represented, but as there is not the slightest difference in the markings, it will not be necessary for me to give a figure of it.

The bird found in the neighbourhood of the Lower Namoi was chiefly observed on the ground, feeding on the seeds of the various kinds of plants that grow under the shelter of the thinly-timbered forests bordering the plains. It was frequently seen in flocks, and was equally as tame as the Geopelia cuneata.

The Port Essington bird is abundantly and equally distributed over all parts of the peninsula and the neighbouring islands; its favourite haunts being moist meadows or the grassy banks of small streams, and grass-seeds its principal food. It is usually met with in flocks of from twenty to fifty in number, which when disturbed generally fly off to the nearest tree; on alighting they jerk the tail very erect, and utter their slowly-repeated and monotonous double note; at other times they coo very faintly, after the manner of the other members of the family.

It is said to make a slight nest in a hollow among the grass near the ground, and to lay two eggs.

The only observable difference between the sexes is the smaller size of the female.

Face and throat grey; occiput, back and wings ashy brown, each feather with a band of deep velvety black at the extremity; spurious wings and primaries dark brown; under surface of the shoulders chestnut; chest, sides and back of the neck grey, crossed by numerous narrow bands of black; abdomen and flanks vinous; four central tail-feathers ashy brown, the remainder black largely tipped with white; irides light ash-grey; bill and orbits bright greyish blue, becoming much paler before and behind the eye; frontal scales of the tarsi and feet dark greenish grey; remainder of the legs and feet reddish flesh-colour.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

GEOPELIA CUNEATA.