Volume 9, Plate XXIX / Ornithology (Birds)

Nicobar Ground Pigeon

Geophilus Nicobaricus

A splendid metallic-plumaged bird of Nicobar, Java, Sumatra, and the Moluccas, nearly fifteen inches long, with heavy rounded body and concave wings showing affinity to the Rasores, living on the ground but roosting in low branches and easily tamed. Save for its pure white tail and blackish-blue quills, the plumage is rich metallic green changing to golden, coppery, and purplish-red, with long acuminate neck-feathers like a cock’s.