n New Guinea; and once saw it in the
Kaioa islands. It is found also in some small islands near Macassar, in
others near Borneo; and in the Nicobar islands, whence it receives its
name. It is a ground feeder, only going upon trees to roost, and is a
very heavy fleshy bird. This may account far the fact of its being
found chiefly on very small islands, while in the western half of the
Archipelago, it seems entirely absent from the larger ones. Being a
ground feeder it is subject to the attacks of carnivorous quadrupeds,
which are not found in the very small islands. Its wide distribution
over the whole length of the Archipelago; from extreme west to east, is
however very extraordinary, since, with the exception of a few of
the birds of prey, not a single land bird has so wide a range.
Ground-feeding birds are generally deficient in power of extended
flight, and this species is so bulky and heavy that it appears at first
sight quite unable to fly a mile. A closer examination shows, however,
that its wings are remarkably large, perhaps in proportion to its size
larger than those of any other pigeon, and its pectoral muscles
are immense. A fact communicated to me by the son of my friend Mr.
Duivenboden of Ternate, would show that, in accordance with these
peculiarities of structure, it possesses the power of flying long
distances. Mr. D. established an oil factory on a small coral island, a
hundred miles north of New Guinea, with no intervening land. After the
island had been settled a year, and traversed in every direction, his
son paid it a visit; and just as the schooner was coming to an anchor,
a bird was seen flying from seaward which fell into the water exhausted
before it could reach the shore. A boat was sent to pick it up, and it
was found to be a Nicobar pigeon, which must have come from New Guinea,
and flown a hundred miles, since no such bird previously inhabited the
island.

This is certainly a very curious case of adaptation to an unusual and
exceptional necessity. The bird does not ordinarily require great powers
of flight, since it lives in the forest, feeds on fallen fruits, and
roosts in low trees like other ground pigeons. The majority of the
individuals, therefore, can never make full use of their enormously
powerful wings, till the exceptional case occurs of an individual
being blown out to sea, or driven to emigrate by the incursion of some
carnivorous animal, or the pressure of scarcity of food. A mod