The KUKULI (_Melopeleia meloda_) is a species inhabiting South America.
This bird has reddish brown plumage, shaded with yellow. The crown of the
head is deep brown; the under breast and belly are of greyish hue; the
wings dark brown, bordered with greyish white; the tail-feathers blackish
grey tipped with white. Under the ear is an oval black spot, and the sides
of the neck are decorated with patches of metallic brilliancy. The eye
is blackish blue; the eye-ring, or, rather, broad, bare cheek-stripe, is
deep blue; the beak black, and the foot red. This species is twelve inches
long. The wing measures six inches and three-quarters.
We are without any detailed account of the life of this Pigeon, but
are indebted to Tschudi for a short communication respecting it in his
"Travels in Peru." "The Kukuli," he writes, "one of the largest species of
Pigeon, is a great favourite in this country, and much kept in cages. Its
song, which is monotonous, but very melodious, is continued up from the
earliest hours of the morning till mid-day, and is re-commenced at sunset.
The song consists merely of a threefold repetition of the syllables
'cu-cu-li.' Some of these birds repeat 'cu-cu-li' more than thrice, and
their price increases according to the number of their uninterrupted
repetitions, which seldom exceed five or six. In Coackacra, however, I
heard one of these birds that repeated its 'cu-cu-li' fourteen times, and
the owner would not sell his favourite for a less price than fourteen
ounces of gold."
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The SPARROW PIGEONS (_Pyrgitænas_), the smallest members of the entire
order, are strongly-built birds, with a short neck and small head. Their
wings, in which the second quill is the longest, are of medium length; the
tail, composed of twelve feathers, is comparatively short, and rounded at
its tip; the short beak is straight and delicate, the foot small, and the
tarsus bare.