Chamæpelieæ. Size very small. Wings rounded, the primaries scarcely longer than the tertials. Tarsus scutellate anteriorly. No blackish spot beneath the auriculars; no metallic gloss on sides of the neck.
Tail of twelve feathers, lengthened (much longer than wings), doubly rounded, the lateral feathers much shorter; the three outer pairs with white terminally … Scardafella.
Tail of twelve feathers, short (much less than wings), simply rounded, the lateral feathers only slightly shorter; outer feathers without white terminally, or with only a slight edging. Wing-coverts with oblique black spots, and body without transverse blackish bars.
Outside of the tarsus with a narrow feathered strip; lining of the wing blackish … Talpacota.
Outside of the tarsus without a feathered strip; lining of the wing wholly rufous … Chamæpelia.
Starnœnadeæ. Size moderate (generally a little larger than Zenaida); form robust, or quail-like. Legs very stout; tarsi decidedly longer than the middle toe, variously scaled anteriorly. Wings short, very broad, and much rounded, but the primaries decidedly longer than the secondaries.
Legs very stout; tarsi covered with hexagonal scales; crown blue; a black gular patch, bordered below by white … Starnœnas.
Legs moderate; tarsi covered anteriorly with transverse scutellæ. Crown never blue, and throat without black or white markings … Geotrygon.
The genera characterized above are all more or less nearly related to others belonging to South America, and many of these apparently form connecting links between the several North American ones. Thus, “Columbina” picui, Gray (of Chili), and C. strepitans (of Paraguay), are almost exactly intermediate between Scardafella and Chamæpelia, both in form and colors. “Leptoptila” is in reality scarcely more than a very large Chamæpelia with an approach to Zenaida in more lengthened primaries, and to Geotrygon in the lengthened tarsus.
“Peristera” cinerea is again a slightly enlarged reproduction of Chamæpelia, with the same pattern of coloration, but without rufous on the inside of the wing.