Description.—Above pale brown; head and neck vinous; back of neck with white cross bands which are edged with black; lower back and tail plumbeous; wings plumbeous, larger coverts broadly edged with white: beneath pale vinaceous; flanks and crissum plumbeous: whole length 14·0 inches, wing 8·0, tail 4·5. Female similar.
Hab. S.E. Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.
The Picazuro or common Wood-Pigeon of the Argentine Republic is of about the size of the domestic Pigeon, but has longer wings, and differs greatly in colour and markings. In summer it inhabits woods, and is seen in pairs or small parties, but in winter unites in flocks of from twenty to one or two hundred individuals, and roams much over the open country. It is a wary bird, and when feeding walks on the ground in a slow and somewhat stately manner. In spring, its song resounds in the woods, and, when heard for the first time, fills the listener with wonder, so strangely human-like in tone are its long mournful notes. The notes are five, the last one long with a falling inflection, and profoundly sorrowful. The nest is a platform structure, frequently placed on a broad horizontal branch; the eggs are two, and closely resemble those of the common Rock-Pigeon of Europe.
[358.] COLUMBA MACULOSA, Temm.
(SPOT-WINGED PIGEON.)
Columba maculosa, Scl. et Salv. Nomencl. p. 132; Sclater, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 545 (Rio Negro); Durnford, Ibis, 1877, p. 42 (Chupat), et 1878, p. 401 (Centr. Patagonia); White, P. Z. S. 1882, p. 626 (Catamarca); Barrows, Auk, 1884, p. 274 (Entrerios).
Description.—Above pale vinaceous brown, profusely spotted on the back and wings with white apical spots; lower back and tail plumbeous; wings and tail slaty black, the former with narrow whitish margins: beneath plumbeous, with a strong vinaceous tinge; bill black; feet yellow: whole length 13·0 inches, wing 8·5, tail 4·5. Female similar.
Hab. Peru, Bolivia, Western Argentina, and Patagonia.
This Pigeon has a general resemblance to the Picazuro, but may be at once distinguished by its spotted back and wings. It ranges from South Peru through Bolivia and Western Argentina into Patagonia, where it appears to be a resident. In winter, the valley of the Rio Negro is visited by it in immense flocks, which are a great plague to the farmers, as they descend in clouds on the fields, and devour the wheat before it has time to sprout. While watching crowds of these birds feeding on the ground, I noticed that their manner was in striking contrast to that of the C. picazuro, which has slow and dignified motions; for it hurried about, and snatched up its food with such rapidity that the most animated motions of other birds that feed in flocks on the ground seemed languid by comparison. This excessively lively habit is, no doubt, directly caused by the conditions of life; the sterile soil and scanty vegetation of the region it inhabits require in a species going in large bodies, and subsisting exclusively on fallen seed, a greater activity than is necessary in the rich fertile region further north.
Its song is composed of notes equal in length and number to that of the Picazuro, but its voice is exceedingly hoarse, like that of the European Wood-Pigeon.