(1831) Dendrophasa pompadora affinis.
THE GREY-FRONTED GREEN PIGEON
Vinago affinis Jerdon. Madr. Jour. L. S., xii, p. 13 (1840) (Malabar Coast). Osmotreron affinis. Blanf. & Oates. iv, p. 8.
Vernacular names. Podo-putsa-guwa (Tel.). Description. Similar to p. phayrei but deeper-coloured on the upper pans, the chestnut-maroon being almost purple; the orange on the breast is faint or absent; the grey of the head is darker and duller, merging into the green of the hind-neck, instead of being distinctly divided therefrom. In the male the shoulder of the wing is blacker and not mixed with grey.
Colours of soft parts. " Iris blue with an outer ring of pink or lake-red ; the soft basal part of the bill is glaucous-green, but the tips of both mandibles are ashy " (Fairbank). " Legs and feet lake-pink; claws bluish-white" (Davison).
Measurements. "Wing 138 to 150 mm.
Distribution. West coast of India from Kanara to Cape Comorin. Kinloch found it very common in the Nelliampathy Hills. Jerdon records it from Central India and the Eastern Ghats and it has occurred in the Laccadives.
Nidification. Similar to that of the other races, nesting in small trees between 6 and 20 feet from the ground, the male assisting as usual in incubation. Twenty eggs average 28.0 x 21.8 mm.
Habits. Those of the species. It seems to be a strictly forest-bird and everywhere common along the whole coast. It is found up to at least 3,000 feet and possibly a good deal higher.
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