_Ectopistes_, SWAINSON, Zoöl. Jour. III, 1827, 362. (Type, _Columba
migratoria_, L.)
GEN. CHAR. Head very small. Bill short, black; culmen one third the rest
of the head; feathers of the chin running very far forward; gonys very
short. Tarsi very short, half covered anteriorly by feathers. Inner
lateral claw much larger than outer, reaching to the base of the middle
one. Tail very long and excessively cuneate; above as long as the wings.
First primary longest. Black spots on scapulars; a black and a rufous
spot on inner webs of tail-feathers.
This genus is readily distinguished from the other _Columbinæ_ by the
excessively lengthened and acute middle feathers. It formerly included
the _Columba carolinensis_, but this, with more propriety, has been
erected into a different genus, and will be found in the next section.
[Illustration: =17046= ♂ ½ ½
_Ectopistes migratoria._]
The _Ectopistes migratoria_ is blue above, the male purplish-red
beneath, the female brownish-ashy, passing into whitish behind. The wing
above and scapulars are spotted with bluish-black, the sides of the neck
with metallic gloss of solferino-purple; the inner webs of tail-feathers
have each a rufous and a black spot.
Ectopistes migratoria, SWAINSON.