The CRESTED BRONZE-WING (_Ocyphaps lophotes_), the most striking member
of the family, has a slender body, moderately long, pointed wing, and
long, graduated tail, formed of fourteen feathers, and wedge-shaped at its
extremity. The short beak is hooked at the tip, and the low foot has its
centre toe almost as long as the tarsus; the back of the head is decorated
with a long, pointed plume. The head, face, breast, and under side are
grey; the crest is black, the mantle light olive-brown, shading into
red on the sides of the head; the large feathers on the wing-covers are
of a glossy, metallic bronze-green, edged with white; the quills brown,
narrowly bordered with brownish white, and partially tipped with white;
the centre tail-feathers are light brown, the rest of a deeper shade, with
a greenish sheen on the outer web and white tips. The eye is orange-red,
the bare skin around the eye red, the beak deep olive, with a brown base
and black tip, the foot red. The length is thirteen inches and a half, and
that of the wing and tail six inches each.
"The chasteness of its colouring," says Mr. Gould, "the extreme elegance
of its form, and the graceful crest which flows from its occiput all tend
to render this Pigeon one of the most lovely members of its family, and
it is therefore to be regretted that owing to its being exclusively an
inhabitant of the interior of Australia it can never become an object of
general observation. As might be supposed, this bird has attracted the
notice of all travellers who have crossed the Blue Mountains." Captain
Sturt mentions it as being numerous on the plains of Wellington Valley
and in the neighbourhood of the Morumbidgee. "The locality nearest the
coast-line that I know it to inhabit is the country near the bend of the
river Murray, in South Australia, where it is tolerably abundant. It
is numerous on the banks of the Namoi, and is occasionally seen on the
Liverpool Plains. It frequently assembles in very large flocks, and when
it visits the lagoons or river-sides for water, during the dry seasons,
generally selects a single tree, or even a particular branch, on which to
congregate before descending simultaneously with its companions to drink."
"Its flight is so rapid as to be unequalled by that of any member of the
group to which it belongs. An impetus being given by a few quick flaps of
the wing, it goes skimming off, apparently without any further movement
of the pinions. Upon alighting on a branch it elevates its tail and throws
back its head so as to bring them nearly together, at the same time
erecting its crest and showing itself to the utmost advantage."
The nest of this species is built on low trees or bushes, and is very
slightly formed of a few twigs. The eggs are white and two in number.
According to Captain Sturt, this bird has a particular partiality for
the _Polygonum geranium_, never ascends to higher land if near extensive
marshes covered with this plant, and is always found in river-valleys
where it grows.
[Illustration: THE CRESTED BRONZE-WING (_Ocyphaps lophotes_).]
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The TRUE BRONZE-WINGS (_Phaps_) are stoutly-framed birds, with long wings
and short tails; their beak almost equals the head in length; the powerful
tarsus is shorter than the middle toe, and the second and third quills in
the pinions are longer than the rest.