_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]
PERISTERA ELEGANS.
Brush Bronze-winged Pigeon.
_Columba elegans_, Colombe Labrador, Temm. Pig., fol. 2d. fam. pl. 22.
p. 56.—Temm. Pig. et Gall., tom. ii. pp. 240 and 466.—Wagl. Syst.
Av. Columba, sp. 58.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. xi. p. 43.
_Opaline Pigeon_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. viii. p. 33.
_Columba Lawsonii_, Sieber, Isis No. 67.
_Ȍo-da_, Aborigines of Western Australia.
_Little Bronze Pigeon_, Colonists of Swan River.
This species is neither so plentiful nor so widely distributed as the
Common Bronze-wing (_Peristera chalcoptera_); it is, however, tolerably
abundant in Van Diemen’s Land, the islands in Bass’s Straits, and the
whole of the southern portion of the Australian continent, from Swan
River on the west to Moreton Bay on the east. In Van Diemen’s Land it is
very numerous, all along the north coast from Circular Head to the
north-eastern corner of the island. Its habits and economy are somewhat
peculiar: I have never seen it perch on the branches of a tree, nor have
I heard of any one who has; neither is it an inhabitant of the open
plains, but affects the most scrubby localities, giving preference to
such as are low and swampy. When flushed it rises very quickly with a
loud burring noise similar to that made by the rising of a partridge,
which bird it also much resembles in its carriage and contour when on
the ground. The shortness of its wings and tail, and the extreme depth
of its pectoral muscle, render its appearance more plump and round than
that of the generality of Pigeons. It is a very difficult bird to shoot,
from its inhabiting the most dense parts of the scrub, from which it is
not easily driven. It flies but little, rarely for a greater distance
than to cross a gully or top a ridge before it again abruptly descends
into the scrub.
Its food consists of seeds and berries of various kinds, particularly in
Van Diemen’s Land of a plant there called Boobyaller.
I believe it never migrates, but merely removes from one locality to
another, as food may be more or less abundant.
Its note is more lengthened than that of the Common Bronze-wing, and is
also a more low and mournful strain, and is more often repeated towards
the close of the evening than at any other time. As an article of food
it is by no means to be despised, being, I should say, even preferable
to the Common Bronze-wing, to which species it offers a nearer alliance
in colour than in form. On a comparison of the structure of the two
birds they will be found to differ materially, the wings of the present
species being shorter, and the tail comprising a smaller number of
feathers than that of the other.
The sexes differ so little in the colouring of their plumage that
dissection is requisite to distinguish them.
In Western Australia it has been observed to breed sometimes on the
ground and at others among the grass, or in a fork of the _Xanthorrhœa_
or grass-tree; the nest being formed of a few small sticks, and the eggs
as usual being white and two in number, fifteen lines long by eleven
lines broad.
Forehead light chestnut; lores black; crown of the head and nape dark
grey; a broad line of rich deep chestnut commences at the posterior part
of the eye and unites at the occiput; on the throat a small
gorget-shaped mark of reddish chestnut; all the upper surface rich deep
lustrous chestnut, becoming gradually paler on the rump and upper
tail-coverts; primaries dark brown with pale edges, and broadly margined
on the base of their external webs with ferruginous; a few of the
wing-coverts with an oblong spot of rich lustrous coppery bronze on the
outer web near the base, the outline of which towards the extremity of
the feather is sharply defined and bounded by a line of whitish grey;
others of the coverts are similarly ornamented with a spot of
golden-green, and others with deep bluish green, bounded by a more
conspicuous line of white; four central tail-feathers brown; the
remainder grey at the base and tipped with brown, the two colours
separated by a broad band of dull black, which band is continued, but is
much less apparent upon the central feathers; sides of the neck and all
the under surface grey, which becomes paler on the abdomen and under
tail-coverts; irides very dark brown; feet bright pink-red.
The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.
[Illustration:
PERISTERA HISTRIONICA: _Gould_.
_J. & E. Gould del^t._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]
PERISTERA HISTRIONICA, _Gould_.
Harlequin Bronzewing.
_Peristera histrionica_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., September 8,
1840.
I first met with this new and beautiful pigeon on the 2nd of December,
1839, while encamped on the banks of the Mokai, a river which rises in
the Liverpool range, and falls into the Namoi.
I was strolling beside the stream at sunrise, when one of these birds
rose from the water’s edge, flew to the distance of forty yards, and
again alighted on the ground, where it assumed much of the air and
actions of a Sand Grouse (_Pterocles_). A fortnight after this I
descended the Namoi, about one hundred and fifty miles, and while
traversing the extensive plains, studded here and there with patches of
trees that skirt the Nundawar range, I was suddenly, but agreeably
startled by an immense flock of these birds rising before me, and again
alighting on the ground at a short distance; finding they would not
admit of near approach, I secreted myself, and desired my aboriginal
companion Natty to go round and turn the flock towards me: the whole
simultaneously rose as before with a loud burring noise, so closely
packed, that had they not passed me at a considerable angle, many must
have fallen to my shot; as it was I succeeded in obtaining four, two of
which were males. Alarmed at so unusual a sound in these solitudes as
the discharge of a gun, the remainder winged their way rapidly out of
sight. About a week afterwards, while returning from hunting the
kangaroo on a distant part of the same plain, we approached a small
group of Myalls (_Acacia pendula_), and Natty suddenly called out,
“Look, massa;” in an instant the air before us seemed literally filled
with a dense mass of these birds, which had suddenly rose from under the
trees at his exclamation; we had scarcely time to raise our guns before
they were seventy or eighty yards off; our united discharge, however,
brought down eight additional specimens, all of which being merely
winged and fluttering about, attracted the attention of our kangaroo
dogs, and it was with the greatest difficulty they could be prevented
from tearing them to pieces; in the midst of the scramble, a kite, with
the utmost audacity, came to the attack, and would doubtless, in spite
of our presence, have carried off his share, had not the contents of my
second barrel stopped his career. This was the last time I met with the
Harlequin Bronzewing. I took every opportunity of making inquiries
respecting it of the natives of the interior, and of the stockmen at the
out stations, both of whom assured me they had never observed it before
the present season. If this assertion be correct, and there seems to be
no reason for doubting it, whence has this fine bird made its
appearance? Had it always been common in those parts of the country, its
size and its beauty must have attracted the attention of the various
travellers who have, from time to time, traversed the interior. May we
not reasonably suppose that it had migrated from the central regions of
this vast continent, which has yet much in store for future discovery?
The great length of wing which this bird possesses, admirably adapts it
for inhabiting such a country as the far interior is generally imagined
to be, since by this means it may readily pass with great ease, and in a
short time, over a vast extent of country; this great power of flight is
also a highly necessary qualification to enable it to traverse the great
distances it is probably often necessitated to do in search of water.
On dissecting the specimens obtained, I found their crops half filled
with small hard seeds, which they procured from the open plains, but of
what kinds I was unable to determine.
Forehead, stripe from behind the eye, forming a circle round the
ear-coverts, and a crescent-shaped mark across the throat snow-white;
the remainder of the head, throat and ear-coverts jet-black; all the
upper surface, wing-coverts, flanks and two centre tail-feathers deep
cinnamon-brown; edge of the shoulder dull white; spurious wing bluish
gray, slightly margined with white; primaries brownish gray, margined on
their outer web with rufous at the base, largely marked with the same on
the inner web, forming a conspicuous patch on the under surface of the
wing, and with an oval spot of white at the tip of each feather;
secondaries crossed by a beautiful deep crimson bronze on the outer webs
near the tip; lateral tail-feathers bluish gray at the base, passing
into black toward the extremity, which is white; breast and centre of
the abdomen bluish gray; under tail-coverts light buff; nostrils and
bill black; bare skin surrounding the eye purplish black; irides dark
brown; frontal scales of the legs and feet lilac-red; hind part
flesh-red.
The female has only a faint indication of the markings which adorn the
male, and is altogether much less brilliant in her appearance.
The figures are those of a male and female of the natural size.
[Illustration: