The following description is given by Captain Shelley:—Yery
similar to T. calva, which it resembles in size, nudity of the forehead,
the grey collar at the base of the hind neck, the vinous and the
yellow on the wings, the bright yellow thighs, and in the under
tail-coverts; but differing in the head, neck, and chest being
yellower, in the olive parts of the back and wings being also
yellower, and in the tail being olive-yellow above instead of grey,
ending in a broad yellowish-buff terminal bar; the iris, bill and legs
are probably similarly coloured to those of T. calva. Total length,
9‘2 inches; culmen from the frontal feathers, 0-8 ; wing, 6'15 ;
tail, 3’5 ; tarsus, 09. The wing varies from 5'7 inches to 7‘2.
Fig. Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1873, pi. 58.
543. T reron d e la la n dii, Bp. Delalande’s Green Pigeon.
This is entirely a bird of the eastern districts; Captain Trevelyan
tells us that it is rare in British Kaffraria, and during his stay there
he only saw three examples in the flesh. One was killed on the road
from Kmgwilliamstown to Bast London in July, 1870, one at
Macleantown, and one he killed himself out of a small flock of five
or six on the banks of the Chalumna River in March, 1877, Mr
Rickard informs us that they are not uncommon at Bast London,
and he has seen one which had been procured in the neighbourhood
of Uitenhage. Captain Shelley saw a specimen at Pinetown in
Natal, and he says that they generally keep well hidden amongst
the foliage of the large trees, where, owing to their green colour,
they are extremely difficult to observe; and relying on this natural
protection they sit close, often allowing stones to be thrown into a
tree before they will take wing.
Mr. Ayres writes :—“ I found these handsome Pigeons somewhat
scarce in the Magaliesbergen in winter; but my brother tells me
that they are exceedingly plentiful there during our summer months,
when wild fruits abound; they are fond of densely foliaged trees,
keeping very quiet if any one approaches; and one may often walk
quietly right under the trees where they are, when they dash out
suddenly, generally one at a time. They are sometimes solitary, but
often in small flocks; their food consists entirely of small berries;
and for the pot they are not by any means to be despised.'’'’ During
Mr. Jameson's expedition to the Mashoona country, this species was
procured on the Umvuli River in August and September, and Mr.
Ayres observes :—“ It is plentiful at the Umvuli at this season,
feeding on the wild fruit which the Boers call the ‘ Moople •’ the tree
is a handsome, dense, dark-foliaged one, and grows here and there all
along the banks of the river. There is also a wild fig-tree in full
bearing with an insipid fruit of the size of a walnut, which the birds
are very fond of. After leaving Rustenburg we did not meet with
this bird until we arrived at the Umvuli.”
Like T. wakefieldii this species has the tail of the same colour as
the back, and the following description is given by Captain Shelley.
Yeiy similar to T. calva and T. wakefieldii, but differs from them
both in the more ashy olive shade of the head, neck and breast; the
feathers extend further on the forehead; the vinous patch on the
wings is generally paler and more ashy; the remainder of the wing
is similar, excepting that the olive parts, as well as the back and tail,
are yellower; tail olive-yellow as in T. wakefieldii, with the broad
terminal band paler but not so strongly marked; “ iris of a beautiful
pale blue; bill very light bluish ashy at the tip, with the basal portion
bright orange” (T. Ayres). Total length, 10inches; culmen from
frontal feathers, 0'9; wing, 6'65; tail, 4'1; tarsus, 0'95. The wing
varies, according to Captain Shelley, from 6-2 to 6'8 inches.
Fig. Bp. Icon. Columb. pi. 1.
S ub-fam. C olumbin.® (Tail with twelve feathers).
Captain Shelley divides this sub-family into ten genera, of which
eight are represented in South Africa. We shall under the heading
of the various species enumerate the points by which the above-
named author distinguishes these genera.
544. C olumba phasonota, Gray. South African Speckled Pigeon.
Golumba guinece, Layard, B. S. Afr. p. 256.
In the genus Golumba the wing is longer than the tail, the latter
not being two-thirds of the wing in length, and the distance between
the tip of the secondaries and the tip of the wing is more than half
the length of the tail; the fourth primary never longer than any of
the outer three; tarsus naked. The members of this genus nest in
holes. The present species represents in South Africa the well-
known Golumba guineai of the northern part of the continent, from