The Gourinae or crowned pigeons of New Guinea

	Another small and equally distinctive subfamily is the Gourinae, or crowned pigeons of New Guinea.   Its there species are the giants of the pigeon family, ranging from 26 to 33 inches in length.	They differ from other pigeons in having 16 instead of 12 tail feathers in the scaling of their legs, in lacking an oil gland and a gall bladder, and in possessing a large, fan-shaped chest of erect lacy feathers. They feed on the ground but take refuge in the trees when disturbed.	Crowned pigeons are rather stupid birds, and after being flushed from the ground sit on an open limb where they are an easy mark for any hunter.   As their flesh, like that of all pigeons, is good eating, these fine, large birds, through now protected by law, have largely disappeared near human habitations but are reported to be still fairly common in the wilder jungles of New Guinea.
Text and picture page 145 from: BIRD OF THE WORLD by Olivier L. Austin, Jr Illustration: Arthur Singer with a foreword by Peter Scott
	Animals'drawings from the Zoological Museum in Lausanne. A click on this image on the left to see the album in Picasa. Great advantage with the Museum of zoology'animals is that they don't move when I draw !!