of lurking savages lying in ambush, presently to fall on and devour them.

Although of smaller size, the Nicobar pigeon is equally curious, and worthy of description as the stately Goura, king of pigeons, by virtue of his crown as well as his bulk. The Nicobar is a native of the island of that name, as well as of the isles of Java and Sumatra. It is about fifteen inches in length, its beak about an inch and a quarter in length, and slightly bent downward at the tip. Its head is slaty blue, with a purplish cast, and adorning its neck and breast are a profusion of long pointed feathers, glowing with resplendent green, bronze, and slaty blue. These long feathers are much like the hackles of the game-cock; and as the light falls on them, their colours come and go, and glow with orange and copper colour and gorgeous purple in a way impossible to describe. The back of the bird, indeed the whole of its upper surface, is glowing green, with bronze and steel-blue reflections; the tail is short and square, and pure white. Authors differ about the habits of this bird. Some assert that its nest is placed on the ground, and that the female lays several eggs, the young running as soon as hatched; but Mr. Bennet, who saw some in an aviary at Macao, says that they were usually seen perched on trees, even upon the loftiest branches; and adds, that they build their rude nests and rear their young upon trees, similar to all the pigeon tribe.

We will next describe a beautiful member of this family, known by the somewhat singular title of Aromatic Vinago. It is an inhabitant of India, Java, and other adjacent islands. It is a bird of mild and timid disposition, and is generally seen in large companies, except during the period of reproduction, when they pair, and retire to the depths of the forest. The back of the aromatic vinago and a part of the lesser wingcoverts are of a rich brownish-red," shot," as the modern term is, with purple; the forehead is of a bright siskin green, the crown greenish grey, the throat rich yellow, and the under parts faint green. The greater wing-coverts and secondary quills are greenish black, with a vivid yellow edging throughout their entire length; the tail is a blending of blue-grey and brown, and white and green. In Selby's description of this bird we read :-" This beautiful bird has brilliant red eyes, the feet are something like the parrot's, and it climbs in the same way as that bird. It is very difficult to find; for, although a flock is marked into a tree, yet its colour is so similar to the leaf of

the banyan (on the small red fig of which it feeds), that if a bird does not move you may look for many minutes before you see one, although there may be fifty in the tree."

There is a pigeon found in the Mollucca and Pacific Islands, which, though not of very splendid appearance, has attractions of a far more substantial nature. It is the Carunculated Ground Pigeon, or the "Oceanic Fruit Pigeon," as it is sometimes called. In size it about equals the common turtle, but is a bulkier bird. The base of the bill and forehead is covered with a naked red skin, and the chin bears a good-sized wattle, which turns upwards on each side towards the ears. The head, cheeks, neck, and breast, are of a purplish grey, and the remainder of the plumage dingy grey, margined with white.

In a natural history of birds, of some repute, we find the following singular notice of the ground pigeon :- "These birds inhabit the forests of the Molluccas, Celebes, Australia, and the Pacific islands. Their food consists of fruit and berries. That of the precious nutmeg, or rather of its soft covering, known to us by the name of mace, affords, at certain seasons, a favourable repast to some species; and upon this luxurious diet they become so loaded with fat, as frequently, when shot, to burst asunder when they fall to the ground. And here we may observe the remarkable provision nature has made for the propagation as well as dissemination of this valuable spice; for the nutmeg itself, which is generally swallowed with the whole of its pulpy covering, passes uninjured through the digestive organs of the birds, and is thus dispersed through the group of the Molluccas and other islands of the East. Indeed, from repeated experiments, it appears that an artificial preparation, analogous to that which it undergoes in its passage through the bird, is necessary to insure the growth and fertility of the nut; and it was not till after many unsuccessful attempts had been made, that a lixivium of lime, in which the nuts were steeped for a certain time, was found to have the wished-for effect, and to induce the germinating tendency."

The Topknot Pigeon is another of the handsome Columbido. It is a native of Southern and Eastern Australia, and is most plentifully found in the bushes of the Illawarra and Hunter rivers. It is about seventeen inches long, and, as its powerful feet and general structure betoken, is a tree dweller, and of the loftiest pretensions; for it is seldom or never seen to make its nest except in the topmost branches. Its prevailing colour is silver-grey; its eyes are orange colour, ringed with crimson;

the base of its bill is blue, and the tip red; its feet are purple. Its wings, which are long and powerful, are edged with black, and its tail has a broad black band crossing its centre, and the extremities of the feathers marked with the same colour. Its chief characteristic, however, is a curious crest that surmounts its head. The possession of an occipital crest is nothing uncommon; but this bird has, in addition, a forehead-crest, composed of long soft feathers, of a silver-grey colour, while the crest on the back of the head is russet.

The Bronze-wing Pigeon of Australia is another “foreigner' worthy of special mention. It is about fifteen inches long. In colour, the forehead is buff, the head is dark brown, changing to deep plum colour at the sides; the sides of the neck are grey, and there is a white waved line under the eye, and running partly down the chin; the upper surface is dark brown; the coverts are marked with bronze-green spots, and the tertiaries have a large oblong shining green spot, edged with buff; the two central feathers are brown, and the rest grey, banded with black near the tip; the breast is purple-brown, fading into grey on the abdomen; the eyes are reddish-brown, and the legs and feet crimson. The bronze-wing is a great water-drinker, and, by reason of this, is often of incalculable service to the Australian traveller, in showing the way to springs and waterholes. Mr. Gould says, “With a knowledge of the habits of this bird, the weary traveller may always perceive when he is in the vicinity of water; and, however arid the appearance of the country may be, if he observes the bronze-wing wending its way from all quarters to a given point, he may be certain to procure a supply of food and water. When rain has fallen in abundance, and the rivers and lagoons are filled, not only to the brim, but overflowing and spread over the surface of the surrounding country, the case is materially altered; then the bronzewing and many other birds are not so easily procured, the abundant supply of the element so requisite to their existence rendering it no longer necessary that they should brave every danger in procuring it." The same clever and interesting author and naturalist relates, that in the droughty summer of 1839-40, when encamped at the northern extremity of the Brezi range, his tent was pitched near a sort of natural basin in the rock, and which still contained a scanty quantity of water from last season's rains; this water, the natives assured Mr. Gould, was the only supply for several miles round, and so the traveller speedily found; for in the evening, and despite

the presence of a body of men with their clamour and cookingfires and undisguised hostile intentions, flocks of timid birds, including the bronze-wing, came boldly to the water, all their natural apprehensions blunted by torturing thirst.

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The Magnificent Pigeon is deserving of his name. What do my readers think of a pigeon of the following description: "In size it equals or rather surpasses the common ring-pigeon; the tail being longer in proportion. The bill, which is rather slender, has the soft or membranous part of a brownish orange; the horny top, which is yellowish white, is slightly arched, but hard and compressed. The head, the cheeks, and the upper part of the neck are of a fine pale bluish grey, which passes into pale green towards the lower part of the neck and back. The upper parts of the body are of a rich golden green, assuming various shades of intensity as viewed in different lights; the wingcoverts are spotted with rich king's yellow, forming an oblique bar across the wings. The quills and tail are of the richest shining green, changing in effect with every motion of the bird. From the chin downwards proceeds a streak of the finest aricula purple (the base of the feathers being of a deep sapphire green); this line gradually expands as it descends, and covers the whole breast and abdomen. The lower belly, thighs, and under wingcoverts are of the richest king's yellow. The feet are bluish black, the tarse short, and clothed with yellow feathers half way down their front and sides." The Magnificent pigeon is found only in Australia, where it lives in trees, and subsists on fruit and seeds.

We now come to a 66 foreigner" more resembling in shape, size, and colour that with which we are acquainted than any other-the Passenger-pigeon of North America. Throughout those regions it is enormously abundant, and is remarkable for its migration in immense flocks from one part of the United States to another. Their arrival at their roostingplaces is eagerly watched for by the inhabitants, who anxiously look out for their coming; and no wonder, as the following account of the gathering of a "pigeon-crop," by Wilson, will show: :

"As soon as the young were fully grown, and before they left the nest, numerous parties of the inhabitants from all parts of the adjacent country came with waggons, axes, beds, and cooking utensils; many of them accompanied by the greater part of their families, and encamped for several days at this immense nursery. Several of them stated that the noise was

so great as to terrify their horses, and that it was difficult for any person to hear another speak without bawling in his ear. The ground was strewed with broken limbs of trees, eggs, and young squab pigeons, which had been precipitated from above, and on which herds of hogs were fattening. Hawks, buzzards, and eagles were sailing about and seizing the squabs from the nests at pleasure; while from twenty feet upward to the top of the trees the view through the woods presented a perpetual tumult of crowding and fluttering multitudes of pigeons, their wings roaring like thunder, mingled with the frequent crash of falling timber; for now the axemen were at work cutting down those trees that seemed to be most crowded with nests, and contriving to fell them in such a manner that in their descent they might bring down several others; by which means the falling of one large tree sometimes produced two hundred squabs little inferior in size to the old ones, and almost one heap of fat. On some single trees upwards of one hundred nests were found, each containing one squab only. It was dangerous to walk under these flying and fluttering millions, from the frequent fall of large branches, broken down by the weight of the multitudes above, and which in their descent often destroyed numbers of the birds themselves; whilst the clothes of those engaged in traversing the woods were completely covered with the excrements of the pigeons."

Audubon gives the following animated description of one of these nocturnal battues :-"The sun," he says, 66 was lost to our view, yet not a pigeon had arrived; but, suddenly, there burst forth a general cry of, Here they come !' The noise which they made, though yet distant, reminded me of a hard gale at sea passing through the rigging of a close-reefed vessel. As the birds arrived and passed over me, I felt a current of air that surprised me. Thousands were soon knocked down by the men provided with poles. The current of birds, however, kept still increasing. The fires were lighted, and a most magnificent, as well as a wonderful and terrifying sight, presented itself. The pigeons, coming in by thousands, alighted everywhere, one above another, until solid masses of them, resen bling hanging swarms of bees, as large as hogsheads, were formed on every tree, in all directions. Here and there the perches gave way under the weight with a crash, and, falling to the ground, destroyed hundreds of birds beneath, forcing down the dense groups with which every stick was loaded. It was a scene of uproar and confusion. I found it quite useless