165
NESOENASSALVAD.
Soles normal, not very broad, only the hind toe with the skin prominently expanded on the sides. First primary about equal to the sixth. Tail entirely rufous, composed of twelve feathers.
NESOENAS MAYERI(PREVOST).
(Plate 3, Fig. 3.)
- Columba mayeri Prévost & Knip, Pigeons II, pl. 60 (1843).
- Columba meyeri Schlegel & Pollen, Rech. Faun. Mad. p. 111, pl. 36 (1868).
- Peristera meyeri G. R. Gray, Gen. B. III App. p. 24 (1849).
- Carpophaga meyeri G. R. Gray, fide Bp. Consp. Av. II p. 45 (1854).
- Trocaza meyeri Bonaparte, Consp. Av. II p. 45 (1854).
- Trocaza meijeri Pollen, N.T.D. I p. 318 (1863).
- Nesoenas mayeri Salvadori, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. vol. XXI p. 327 (1893).
The following is the description by Salvadori in the "Catalogue of Birds":—"Head, neck and underparts pale pink, fading into whitish towards the forehead, cheeks and upper throat, and passing into rather darker pink on the mantle; remainder of the upper back and the entire wings brown, with a slight shade of olive and rufous; lower back and rump greyish, the latter mottled with chestnut; upper tail coverts and tail cinnamon, the outer tail feathers fading into buff on the outer webs and towards the tips; undertail-coverts pink, like the mantle; undersurface of the wings ashy brown, slightly pale on the axillaries, and under wing-coverts iris yellow; bill yellow, shaded with red towards the base; legs red (fide Shelley). Total length about 15.5 inches, wing 8.5, tail 6.5, bill 0.86, tarsus 1.3."
In the live bird the pink soon fades away almost entirely, and the olive shade on the wings is strongly developed.
This bird was not found by the Rev. H. H. Slater, during his visit to Mauritius. As observed by Mons. Paul Carié (Ornis XII, p. 127), the idea that it is extinct is, however, incorrect, as it can still easily be procured, though it is rare. M. Georges Antelme, of Mauritius, possesses the eggs of this pigeon. That it still exists is also evident from two specimens which were sent to the Zoological Gardens, London, last year, and are still living there.
Habitat: Mauritius.
