_Columba rufina._
_Columba rufina_, +Temm.+ Pig. 24.
_Columba Cayanensis_, +Bonn.+
[86] Length 16 inches, expanse 26¹⁄₂, flexure 9¹⁄₄, tail 5³⁄₄,
rictus 1⁴⁄₁₀, tarsus 1³⁄₁₀, middle toe 1⁹⁄₁₀ (including claw ⁵⁄₁₀).
Iris consists of two circles, the inner one pale blue, the outer
pale orange, the junction of the colours being marked by a line
of dark blue. Orbits grey, edges of eyelids dull red. Beak black;
feet lake-red. Head, neck, breast, and belly, dull reddish-purple.
Scapulars and inter-scapulars dusky grey. Wings greyish-black;
secondary greater coverts blue grey, edged with white; mid-coverts
red-brown, merging into the surrounding colours. Back, rump, and
tail, slate blue, the latter deepening towards the tip. Chin pale
grey. Sides, thighs, under wing and tail-coverts, blue grey. Sexes
barely differing.
The Blue Pigeon is found both on the mountains and in the lowlands.
On the former it seems less to affect the deep forest, than such
woods as skirt cultivated ground. When the purple berries of the
_phytolacca_ are ripe, about the end of the year, these pigeons
flock in considerable numbers to feed at dawn and at evening. About
the same time they are numerous in the lowlands, for I have found
them plentiful in the large morass that extends along the shore from
Crabpond to Parker’s Bay. They were flying about in pairs, for the
most part, among the black mangrove trees, on whose seeds they were
probably feeding. But I found in the stomachs of those which I shot,
the white blossoms of a species of missletoe which is abundant there,
and in one the bean-like seeds of, as I believe, the madjo-bitter
(_Picramnia_). Early in February I visited the mangrove woods of Mount
Edgecumbe morass, to seek these birds. They were rather numerous, but
alighted only on the summits of the tallest trees. Finding that they
were very shy, I seated myself and remained quietly watching. Thus I
obtained several successive shots, as they appeared to come round to
the spot periodically, perhaps once in half-an-hour. Two or three were
in company, and as they flew from tree-top to tree-top, their movements
were announced by a guttural _jug, jug_, and by the loud rushing of
their powerful wings. Frequently one would chase another round the
trees, playfully, which I conjectured to be a symptom of pairing.
The common note of the Blue Pigeon resembles somewhat the barking of a
cur; _bow-wow—wōw_, the last syllable protracted and falling. It is
much like the _Sary-coat-blue_ of the Bald-pate, but the short second
syllable is wanting.
For delicacy and flavour of flesh this species scarcely yields to its
congener, and is but a little less in request. It is dark in hue, but
exquisitely delicious, tender, juicy, and free from bitterness.
It is an arboreal bird, but not quite so exclusively as the Ring-tail.
Like the Bald-pate, he is often shot, by forestalling him at his
feeding tree, before day-break. In form he agrees with the bird just
named; his legs and feet are stout and strong; his head and neck
small and slender; the plumage of his nape forms a sort of ridge. M.
Temminck, probably having never seen the bird alive, and not being
aware of the very singular peculiarity of the iris mentioned in the
note, has given his figure red eyes. The two colours impart a very
unusual character to the physiognomy of the species; it is constant,
not accidental.
About the end of April, I was informed of a Blue Pigeon’s nest on a
lofty limb of an inaccessible cotton tree. It was a more substantial
structure than those of its congeners, being made of dried grass,
or similar material, as well as twigs. A Bald-pate had a nest on
a contiguous tree, and the neighbouring birds were continually
squabbling. I have never seen the eggs.
The Blue Pigeon is said to inhabit not only all the great islands of
the West Indies, but also Guiana.