The only Rail met with was an example of Rallina tricolor which has the head, neck and chest bright chestnut, and the rest of the plumage dark brown with white bars on the wing-feathers. It is also met with in some of the Papuan Islands and in North-eastern Australia.
FAMILY COLUMBIDÆ—PIGEONS.
Pigeons were very numerously represented, no fewer than twenty-six different species being obtained by the Expedition. Some of the smaller forms are among the most beautifully coloured birds met with in New Guinea. The Crowned Pigeons (Goura) are represented by G. sclateri which was fairly common near the base camp and met with in all places visited by the Expedition. In spite of the numbers shot for food during the whole time the Expedition remained in the country, the supply did not appear to diminish. This fine Pigeon and a few others afforded the only fresh meat to be had. On the canoe-journeys up the river Sclater’s Goura was frequently met with in the early mornings in parties of two or three searching for aquatic life along the muddy banks. When disturbed they did not immediately take flight, but with raised wings pirouetted around for a few seconds and then flew to the nearest high tree. Mr. Goodfellow found the remains of small crabs in their stomachs and a large percentage of the birds shot were infested by a small red parasite, the same, or similar to that which is known in other parts of New Guinea as “Scrub-itch.”
Another very handsome bird is the Ground-Pigeon (Otidiphaps nobilis) with the head bluish-black, the nape dull metallic green, the mantle and wings purplish-chestnut and the rest of the plumage deep purple, all being more or less metallic. Its long legs and the upward carriage of its long tail give it much the appearance of a Bantam hen. It was fairly common, but being extremely shy was rarely met with.
Among the larger Fruit-Pigeons we must specially mention Carpophaga pinon which has the general appearance of a large Wood-Pigeon. It was met with in large flocks and proved an excellent bird for the table. Another very striking species, of rather lesser proportions and very much rarer, was Muller’s Fruit-Pigeon (Carpophaga mulleri) easily distinguished by its white throat, the bold black ring round its neck and its shining chestnut mantle. Among the handsomest was Carpophaga rufiventris, a bird with the breast cinnamon and the wings and back metallic green, copper and purple. Lastly a very striking form was the large creamy-white Pigeon (Myristicivora spilorrhoa) with the flight feathers, tips of the tail-feathers and under tail-coverts blackish. It appears to be entirely confined to the mangrove swamps and was observed breeding in May along the creeks near the mouth of the river, no less than seven nests being found in one tree.
As already stated among the smaller Fruit-Pigeons many are very beautifully marked and brilliantly coloured, but always with the most harmonious shades. It would seem as though Nature had almost exhausted her scheme of colouration in dealing with some of these birds; for we find two totally different species, Ptilopus zonurus and P. gestroi, occurring together in which the markings and colours of the plumage are almost identical; on the under-surface the two species are practically alike, both have the chin and throat pale lavender, extending in a ring round the neck, the throat orange, the chest washed with vinous and the remainder of the under-parts green; on the upper-surface, the top of the head and nape are greenish-yellow and the rest of the upper-parts green, but in P. zonurus the median wing-coverts are green with a subterminal spot of bright pink, while in P. gestroi the least wing-coverts are crimson and the next series grey fringed with greenish-yellow. Another parallel case of close resemblance is found between the small Ptilopus nanus and the larger P. coronulatus. Though really extremely distinct species the under-parts are very similarly coloured both being green with a bright magenta patch on the middle of the breast and the belly and under-tail coverts mostly bright yellow: viewed from the upper surface the two birds are, however, very different, P. coronulatus having the crown lilac-pink, edged posteriorly with bands of crimson and yellow, while P. nanus has the head green, but the ends of the scapulars and secondaries are deep shining bluish-green, tipped with bright yellow. Even more brilliantly coloured species than the above are Ptilopus pulchellus, P. superbus, P. aurantiifrons and P. bellus.
Near the camp at Wataikwa large flocks of D’Albertis’ Pigeon (Gymnophaps albertisii) were observed coming in every evening from their feeding-grounds on the high mountains to roost on the plains below. Mr. Goodfellow tells us that their flight is extremely rapid and that their strange aerial evolutions remind one of the common “Tumbler” Pigeons.
The Long-tailed Cuckoo-Doves were represented by the very large Reinwardtœnas griseotincta and the smaller chestnut-plumaged Macropygia griseinucha; the former being a large and abnormally long-tailed bird with the head, mantle and under-parts grey, and the back and tail chestnut.