| 434. Geopelia humeralis | [Vol. V. ] Pl. 72. |
| 435. Geopelia tranquilla, Gould | [Vol. V. ] Pl. 73. |
| 436. Geopelia placida, Gould. |
Inhabits the neighbourhood of Port Essington, is much smaller than G. tranquilla, but in colour and marking is precisely similar to that species.
| 437. Geopelia cuneata | [Vol. V. ] Pl. 74. |
“All that we read or imagine of the softness and innocence of the dove,” says Captain Sturt, “is realized in this beautiful and delicate bird; it is common on the Murray and the Darling, and was met with in various parts of the interior. Two remained with us at the Depôt in latitude 39° 40′, longitude 142°, during a great part of the winter, and on one occasion roosted on the tent-ropes near the fire. Its note is exceedingly plaintive, similar to, but softer than, that of the turtle-dove of Europe.”
Genus Macropygia, Swains.
A genus the members of which are distributed over India, Java, New Guinea, Ceram, the Moluccas, Australia, &c. Only one species, M. Phasianella, has yet been found in the last-mentioned country, but others may be discovered when its eastern and northern parts have been more fully explored.
| 438. Macropygia Phasianella | [Vol. V. ] Pl. 75. |
The interior of the dense brushes are the favourite haunts of this bird, but it occasionally resorts to the crowns of the low hills and the open glades of the forest, where it searches for its food on the ground; on being disturbed it flies to the branches of the nearest tree, spreading out its broad tail at the moment of alighting.
Genus Didunculus, Peale.
Since I drew and described this most anomalous form, under the name assigned to it by Sir William Jardine, two important facts have been ascertained respecting it, viz. that it is identical with the bird described by Mr. Titian Peale of America under the name of Didunculus, and that the Samoan Islands and not Australia is its true habitat.