There are reasons for believing that the _Geopelia humeralis_ inhabits
the whole of the vast interior of Australia as well as the neighbourhood
of the coasts of its northern and eastern portions. In New South Wales
it is sparingly dispersed over the Liverpool Plains, where some of the
specimens I possess were obtained, while others were procured at Port
Essington. As the structure of its legs would indicate, it passes much
of its time on the ground, feeding on the seeds of various kinds of
grasses and leguminous plants. Not only is it one of the most elegant of
the Dove tribe inhabiting Australia, but it is also one of the most tame
and docile, if I may judge from the few I observed on the heated plains
of New South Wales: their confidence was such that they sometimes
perched within two yards of the spot where I was sitting; extreme thirst
and a scanty supply of water may, however, have rendered them more tame
and bold than they otherwise would have been.
Mr. Gilbert states that at Port Essington “this Pigeon is extremely
abundant, inhabiting thickets, swampy grounds, and the banks of running
streams. It mostly feeds on the seeds of various kinds of grasses, but
when the country becomes burnt it finds an abundant supply of berries in
the thickets. It may often be seen among the mangroves in flocks of
several hundreds, and hence its colonial name of Mangrove Pigeon. It was
equally numerous during the whole period of my stay in that part of the
country. Any number of specimens may be readily procured, for when
disturbed the bird merely flits from branch to branch, or if in an open
part of the country to the nearest tree. I did not on any occasion
observe it take anything approaching a sustained flight. Its most common
note is a rather loud _coo-coo_, occasionally uttered at long intervals;
during the pairing-season the note becomes of a softer tone, and is more
rapidly repeated, and its actions very much resemble those of the
Domestic Pigeon of Europe. It breeds in August, and makes a very slight
nest of slender twigs, loosely and carelessly laid across each other on
two or three of the lower leaves of the _Pandanus_, the upper leaves of
which afford it a shelter from the rays of the sun, and from the rain;
the eggs are two in number of a delicate fleshy-white.”
The sexes are alike in colouring.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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