_Starnœnas_, BONAPARTE, Geog. & Comp. List, 1838. (Type, _Columba
cyanocephala_, L.)
GEN. CHAR. Bill short; culmen about one third the rest of head, measured
from the frontal feathers. Legs very stout and large; tarsus bare on
the entire tibial joint, and covered with hexagonal scales, largest
anteriorly, longer than the middle toe and claw. Inner lateral claw
the larger, reaching the base of the middle claw; all the claws short,
thick, and blunt. Hind toe and claw short; half the middle. Wings short,
broad, and concave; much rounded. Tail short, broad, nearly even, but
slightly vaulted.
The single species of Dove composing the genus in many respects
resembles the Partridges or Quails, both in external appearance and in
manners.
Starnœnas cyanocephala, BON.