GEOPELIA CUNEATA.
Graceful Ground-Dove.
Cvlumha cuneata, Latli m - igl Syst Ay.,
---------- Marpmn [ > i ” Vu y 1, 'BHrapie; Ois t 51.—Ib. Knip etPrevost, H ist N a t des Fig., t. 41.
2 |5 .
Geopelia cuneata, List ofJBrit. Mui3. ppfe^Paut III;
Men-na-hrun-Jca, AboB®|s^^e^a,oiintaiii districts of Western Australia.
Turtle Dove, Colonists of Swan Hivpr.
Tf^fegautiiul K t t l i ^ y c hererep*escDt,f d um.uk title for rim “elegance of its contour, the chaste
imllj^iur iplouimir ol jf^ jilm n u ^ g an ^ 'f^ ik ipn. 'W jfw ^ d iip u s ilriu i all of which combine to render
KeT'ljFiSlr^1* “J1 1 . 1 ' l,ri ili1“ -’ 11,1 ir " 1 maUen"of^suffijise to me that it has not long ere
^ J fv -h o ' n a denizen ° f j f e aviaries and v m Hw biuk hi u ^Jikeli to In ar confinement
-m ore con tentedly. 5;^
I liave specimens collected' in every ©n,e of the Australian colonies, even that of Port Essington; I encountered
it myself on the flat ami fertile’districts of the Upper Hunter in New South Wales, and James
Macarthur, Esq., informed m ^ ^ ^ ^M o ^ e tim e s seem ojihis estate at Camden; at the same time, as it is
rarely met with on the seaside of the mountain ranges, but occurs in considerable numbers on the plains of
the interior, so far as they have yet been explored, it must be regarded as an inhabitant of the central
portion of the country, over the whole o f which vast space k,is,/doubtless numerously dispersed.
Its natural food being the seeds of grasses and leguminous plants, it is observed more frequently on the
ground than ampng the trees; I sometimes met with it in small flocks, but more often in pairs or singly.
It runs 0|^ ^ & g x ° und w ® a short b ob bi n g~ m 0 ti o n® the tail, and whpefeedin^is so remarkably tame as
almost to admit of its being taken by®ei hand, and if forced to take w i |||p merely flies, to the nearest
trees, and there rempins- motionless among the branches until it again descends to the ground. I not
^ f e e ^ h f e ly obs doors dflfrke Jmts of the stock-keepers of the iiit^ripr, who, from
its being-so' c o p ® m y |p ® e them,Regard it with little interest.
The nest is a frail but beautiful structure, formed of the stalks of a few flowering grasses, crossed and interwoven
after the manner; ()f the other pigeons.. O u o - s^ n £ e from Western A u s tra lia S l| composed,”
says Mr. Gilbert, “ of a small species of knotted everlastirfg-Iike plant (Composita), and was placed on the
overhanging grasses of the Xanthori'hosa; hut the birdj usually-constructs a very loosely formed nest in the
fork o f a tree. Duriug my first visit to this part of the country only two situation's were known as places
of resort for%his species, and I did not meet with more tKan five or six examples; since that period it has
Become extremely abundant, and no]ya pair or two may occasionally be seen about most of the settlers’
houses on the Avon, becoming apparently very tame and familiarized to man. It utters a rather singular
note, whicli at times very much resembles the distant crowing of a cock. The term Men-na-brun-ka j$"
applied to it by the^ natives from a traditionary idea that the bird originally introduced the Men-na, a kind of
gum which exudes from a species of Acacia, an^ii^ieh^xs one of the favourite articles of food of the
The eggs are white and twQ in nnmbor, eleven-sixteenths Of an inch long by seven-sixteenths broad.
The sexes, although bearing a general resemblance to each o th e r,lm l| be readily distinguished by the
smaller size of the female, by the browner hue of her wing-featbersJ ahdjbv the spotting o f her upper surface
not being so numerous or so regular as in the male.
The male has the head, neck and breast delicate grey, passing iuto^hitejori the abdomen and under talk
coverts ; back and scapularies cinnamon-brown; wing-coverts dark grey; each feather of the wing-coverts
and scapularies with two spots, o,ne on the edge of either web near the tip,~of \yjdlfe;encircled with black;
spurious wing and primaries brown, the latter rufous on their inner webs for two-thirds of their length ;
four centre tail-feathers grey, deepening into black at the extremity and with black shafts; the remainder
greyish black at the base, and pure white for the remainder of their length ; irides in some instances bright
red, and the naked skin round the eyes light scarlet; in others the irides and naked skin round the eyes are
pale greenish yellow; bill dark olive-brown; feet reddish flesh-colour in some instances, in others yellowish.
The female differs in having the back of the head, neck and upper surface browner, and the spots on the
wings larger than the male.
The Plate represents the two sexes oJ^IMpilurSL^ev“"'- v‘