26 ZEN AID A DOVE.
tips. The feet are red; the nails blackish; tbfe tftsus niieasur.es|
thfee guartersjof an ipch*in length. .
V'' The^efaS&le is ’^ery similar, tp the, male in size and colour: the
haad^hiowe\c»*i4iibntJalMdHl y tinged with vinacg^psj the golden
Violet reflections!. of the.iP^Qcjt'are -not,Equate, so vivid, and the
infkiSoBMsurlace of. a paler vin^eous, but- graduated .as in the
male, Theip tera l tail-feathers aa-e alsomuchmore uniform #tith
the middle on’e, and /6f com’se wit® tbefback, the thrteeto^t&^.onl|y
e ach^ide r being p e ^ ^ r a y satf tip. This latter^oharacter
however! ssd should -ratfe^pffitributei to-.ag^*tJj.an s^ ^ if yye had
not good reason to b e lie f.th a t our female ista pErfeette adult
bird. $
iLt first ttSjf^ht, the Zenaidp Dove might perhaps he imBta]ken f$£$
the common Tuf t-le Dcr®;f-^Columba. carotinensis, ^ n ^ marginata -Of
authors) having- the samelgenera-L.colour- and several common
markings; but to inpataGilyno otlfer'^iffereiMal character. the"
short even tail) ;6oreposed ;,«f h.ut twelve ^ajh©^,^m#jE6upde^p
the outer bluish-gray at., tip, will 'at once distinguished** from
tho^liitter, which bnJongs to a different group, having theJtaiL,
long cuneiform, andf|what is found ift no other American sjOfecieswi
n o t,even ,its- -close relation--the Passenger Pigecjn) ^ompbs^dv^f
fourteen tapering and acute,,feathers, the middleremarkably
tmk and the lateral pure white %t tip-, »If Emjf«other^distinction
should be required, thg, white tips of the secondaries of our Jfew
species,,$vill affordTa- good o n * as well as the outer taihfeather,
the exterior jweb of-,which JSfbluergray, crossed, as; we® a® Ifhe,'
others, h ^ f t e black band; whilst in \h^e Ci Car@linimsi$ \% is entirely^!
pure white, the black band being confined to the inner web.