_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]
GEOPELIA HUMERALIS.
Barred-shouldered Ground-Dove.
_Columba humeralis_, Temm. Pl. Col. 191.
_Mangrove Pigeon_, resident at Port Essington.
There are reasons for believing that the _Geopelia humeralis_ inhabits
the whole of the vast interior of Australia as well as the neighbourhood
of the coasts of its northern and eastern portions. In New South Wales
it is sparingly dispersed over the Liverpool Plains, where some of the
specimens I possess were obtained, while others were procured at Port
Essington. As the structure of its legs would indicate, it passes much
of its time on the ground, feeding on the seeds of various kinds of
grasses and leguminous plants. Not only is it one of the most elegant of
the Dove tribe inhabiting Australia, but it is also one of the most tame
and docile, if I may judge from the few I observed on the heated plains
of New South Wales: their confidence was such that they sometimes
perched within two yards of the spot where I was sitting; extreme thirst
and a scanty supply of water may, however, have rendered them more tame
and bold than they otherwise would have been.
Mr. Gilbert states that at Port Essington “this Pigeon is extremely
abundant, inhabiting thickets, swampy grounds, and the banks of running
streams. It mostly feeds on the seeds of various kinds of grasses, but
when the country becomes burnt it finds an abundant supply of berries in
the thickets. It may often be seen among the mangroves in flocks of
several hundreds, and hence its colonial name of Mangrove Pigeon. It was
equally numerous during the whole period of my stay in that part of the
country. Any number of specimens may be readily procured, for when
disturbed the bird merely flits from branch to branch, or if in an open
part of the country to the nearest tree. I did not on any occasion
observe it take anything approaching a sustained flight. Its most common
note is a rather loud _coo-coo_, occasionally uttered at long intervals;
during the pairing-season the note becomes of a softer tone, and is more
rapidly repeated, and its actions very much resemble those of the
Domestic Pigeon of Europe. It breeds in August, and makes a very slight
nest of slender twigs, loosely and carelessly laid across each other on
two or three of the lower leaves of the _Pandanus_, the upper leaves of
which afford it a shelter from the rays of the sun, and from the rain;
the eggs are two in number of a delicate fleshy-white.”
The sexes are alike in colouring.
Forehead, cheeks, sides of the neck and breast delicate grey; occiput,
back, wing-coverts, rump and upper tail-coverts silky brown; back of the
neck rufous, every feather of the upper surface bounded at the extremity
with a narrow band of black, giving the whole a squamated or scaled
appearance; under surface of the shoulder and the inner webs, except
their tips, of the primaries and secondaries fine rust-red; outer webs
and tips of the inner webs of the primaries and secondaries brown; two
centre tail-feathers dark grey, the remainder reddish brown at the base,
gradually increasing in intensity towards their tips, those next the
centre ones washed with grey on their outer webs, and all but the centre
ones largely tipped with white; centre of the abdomen white; the
remainder of the under surface washed with vinous; irides ochre-yellow;
bill and nostrils delicate mealy light blue; naked skin round the eye
mealy purple; legs and feet pink red.
The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size.
[Illustration:
GEOPELIA TRANQUILLA: _Gould_.
_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]
GEOPELIA TRANQUILLA, _Gould_.
Peaceful Dove.
_Geopelia placida_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XII. p. 56.
The interior of the country northward from New South Wales is inhabited
by considerable numbers of this pretty little Dove, but it has not yet
been met with either in Southern or Western Australia. It was very
abundant on the Namoi, particularly on the lower part of that river; and
that its range will extend over a large part of the interior, is more
than probable.
A bird precisely similar in markings, but of a smaller size, is very
abundant at Port Essington, and the two birds may prove to be mere
varieties of each other; at the same time, as so great a variation in
size rarely if ever occurs in a state of nature, I have for the present
considered it to be a distinct species, and assigned to it the name of
_Geopelia placida_; it is nearly one-third less than the bird here
represented, but as there is not the slightest difference in the
markings, it will not be necessary for me to give a figure of it.
The bird found in the neighbourhood of the Lower Namoi was chiefly
observed on the ground, feeding on the seeds of the various kinds of
plants that grow under the shelter of the thinly-timbered forests
bordering the plains. It was frequently seen in flocks, and was equally
as tame as the _Geopelia cuneata_.
The Port Essington bird is abundantly and equally distributed over all
parts of the peninsula and the neighbouring islands; its favourite
haunts being moist meadows or the grassy banks of small streams, and
grass-seeds its principal food. It is usually met with in flocks of from
twenty to fifty in number, which when disturbed generally fly off to the
nearest tree; on alighting they jerk the tail very erect, and utter
their slowly-repeated and monotonous double note; at other times they
coo very faintly, after the manner of the other members of the family.
It is said to make a slight nest in a hollow among the grass near the
ground, and to lay two eggs.
The only observable difference between the sexes is the smaller size of
the female.
Face and throat grey; occiput, back and wings ashy brown, each feather
with a band of deep velvety black at the extremity; spurious wings and
primaries dark brown; under surface of the shoulders chestnut; chest,
sides and back of the neck grey, crossed by numerous narrow bands of
black; abdomen and flanks vinous; four central tail-feathers ashy brown,
the remainder black largely tipped with white; irides light ash-grey;
bill and orbits bright greyish blue, becoming much paler before and
behind the eye; frontal scales of the tarsi and feet dark greenish grey;
remainder of the legs and feet reddish flesh-colour.
The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.
[Illustration: