_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]
OCYPHAPS LOPHOTES.
Crested Pigeon.
_Columba Lophotes_, Temm. Pl. Col. 142.—Wagl. Syst. Av. Columba, sp.
103.—Steph. Cont. of Shaw’s Gen. Zool., vol. xiv. p. 289. pl. 34.
_The Crested Pigeon of the Marshes_, Sturt’s two Exp. to the interior
of Southern Australia, vol. i. pl. in p. 24.
_Turtur? Lophotes_, Selby, Nat. Lib. Orn., vol. v. Pigeons, p. 174.
pl. 18.
The chasteness of its colouring, the extreme elegance of its form, and
the graceful crest which flows backwards from its occiput, all tend to
render this Pigeon one of the most lovely of its tribe inhabiting
Australia, and in fact I consider it is not surpassed in beauty by any
other from any part of the world. It is to be regretted, that owing to
its being exclusively an inhabitant of the plains of the interior, it
can never become an object of general observation; but, like the
_Peristera histrionica_ and _Geophaps scripta_ it can only be seen by
those of our enterprising countrymen whose love of exploring new
countries prompts them to leave for a time the haunts of civilized man
to wander among the wilds of the distant interior, a portion of the
country never to be regarded as solitary or uninteresting by those who
look with admiration upon the wonderful works of their Creator: the
fauna of the interior of Australia has in fact, as I have frequently had
occasion to remark in the course of the present work, features
peculiarly its own, and its members are eminently interesting both for
their novelty and for the beauty and elegance of their form.
As might be supposed, this bird has attracted the notice of all our
travellers who have journeyed across the colonial line of demarcation;
Captain Sturt mentions it as being numerous on the plains of Wellington
valley, and in the neighbourhood of the Morumbidgee. It would seem to
affect marshy situations in preference to others, for Captain Sturt
observes that he took its appearance to be a sure sign of his approach
to a country more than ordinarily subject to overflow; since, on the
Macquarie and the Darling, those birds were only found to inhabit the
regions of marshes, or spaces covered by the _Acacia pendula_ or the
_Polygonum junceum_. The locality nearest the coast line that I know it
to inhabit, is the country near the great bend of the river Murray in
South Australia, where it is tolerably abundant; it abounds on the
plains at the back of Moreton Bay on the banks of the river Namoi, and
is occasionally, but very rarely, 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; very great numbers perching side by side, and all descending
simultaneously to drink: so closely are they packed while thus engaged,
that I have heard of dozens of them being killed by the single discharge
of a gun.
Its powers of flight are so rapid as to be unequalled by those of any
member of the group to which it belongs; an impetus being acquired by a
few quick flaps of the wings, 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 off to
the utmost advantage.
I met with the nest of this species in a low tree, on the great plain
near Gundermein on the Lower Namoi, on the twenty-third of December
1839; like that of the other species of Pigeon, it was a slight
structure of small twigs, and contained two white eggs, which were one
inch and a quarter long and nearly an inch broad, upon which the female
was then sitting.
The sexes are alike in plumage.
Head, face, throat, breast and abdomen grey; lengthened occipital plumes
black; back of the neck, back, rump, flanks, upper and under
tail-coverts light olive-brown; the upper tail-coverts tipped with
white; sides of the neck washed with pinky salmon-colour; feathers
covering the insertion of the wing deep buff, each crossed near the tip
with a line of deep black, giving this part of the plumage a barred
appearance; greater wing-coverts shining bronzy green, margined with
white; primaries brown, becoming of a deeper tint as they approach the
body; the third, fourth and fifth finely margined on the apical half of
their external web with brownish white, the remainder with a narrow line
of white bounding the extremities of both webs; secondaries brown on
their inner webs, bronzy purple on their outer webs at the base, and
brown at the extremity, broadly margined with white; two centre
tail-feathers brown, the remainder blackish brown, glossed with green on
their outer webs, and tipped with white; irides buffy orange; orbits
naked, wrinkled, and of a pink-red; nostrils and base of the bill
olive-black; tip black; legs and feet pink-red.
The figures are of the natural size.
[Illustration:
PETROPHASSA ALBIPENNIS: _Gould_.
_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]
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.
[Illustration: