Adult male.—Forehead and superciliary stripe white, shading into slate-blue on crown and nape; upper back and neck washed with slate-blue; primaries, primary-coverts, and alula dull brown; small lesser coverts on shoulder tipped with white; rest of wings and back rich metallic green, changing to rich bronze when specimen is held away from the light; back metallic copper-color crossed near middle by a band of blue-gray; another blue-gray band between back and rump; upper tail-coverts dark slate with black tips; sides of neck and face and lower parts vinaceous-purple, paler on chin and on abdomen, the former sometimes washed with brown; basal under tail-coverts blue-gray, the longest ones blackish; rectrices mostly blackish, outermost pair mostly pearl-gray above, clearest on outer web, with a subterminal black band; next two pairs similar but variable. Iris brown; bill coral-red, dark at base; legs dark carmine; feet bluish; nails horn. A specimen from Mindoro measures: Length, 255; wing, 152; tail, 92; culmen from base, 23; tarsus, 27; middle toe with claw, 30.

Adult female.—In color pattern like the male from which it differs chiefly in having the vinaceous-purple replaced by brown, more or less faintly glossed with purple; whole head brown, superciliary stripe much reduced; small lesser wing-coverts brown; rump and upper tail-coverts cinnamon-brown with blackish tips and slight purple gloss; rectrices much as in male but second, third, and fourth outer pairs more or less rufous basally. A specimen from Masbate measures: Length, 241; wing, 139; tail, 85; culmen from base, 20; tarsus, 26; middle toe with claw, 28.

Young.—A young male has top and sides of head brown, the tips of many feathers cinnamon or rusty, especially those about the eyes; metallic colors of back and wings largely replaced by dusky brown and many of the wing-coverts, as well as some primaries and secondaries, tipped and mottled with rusty cinnamon; sides of neck, breast, and abdomen barred with cinnamon and blackish brown. Iris dark brown; bill dull reddish brown; legs dull pink; nails slate.

“Exceedingly common throughout the group. Invariably found on the ground and usually in deep woods. Usually alights on the ground again when flushed. Eyes dark brown; bill dark red; legs and feet light to dark red; nails light brown. Seven specimens average, 243 in length; wing, 141; tail, 88; culmen, 22; tarsus, 24; middle toe and claw, 29.” (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

The bronze-winged dove, because of its wide distribution, is a species little valued by the collector but its solitary and unobtrusive habits usually lead the novice to mistake it for a rarity. In no place abundant, the species may be found in nearly every island where forest, or even a small growth of trees, exists to afford protected feeding grounds. Oates records two eggs of this species which were collected in Mindoro by the Steere Expedition.

Subfamily GEOTRYGONINÆ.
Genus PHLEGŒNAS Reichenbach, 1852.

Terrestrial and solitary; wings moderate; first primary normal; tail moderate and rounded; tarsi unfeathered; wing-coverts banded; chin and throat white; a conspicuous spot, or patch, of orange or red on crop region, where the feathers are decomposed and harsh.

Species.