Ruddy Pigeon
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| iRuddy Pigeon | ||||||||||||||
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| Patagioenas subvinacea (Lawrence, 1868) |
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Chloroenas subvinacea Lawrence, 1868 |
The Ruddy Pigeon, Patagioenas subvinacea (see Johnson et al., 2001), is a largish pigeon which breeds from Costa Rica south to western Ecuador, Bolivia and central Brazil.
It is found in highland forest canopy and semi-open woodland from 1500 m altitude to the timberline. It builds a rudimentary platform nest out of twigs 5 m high in a small tree, and lays one white egg.
The Ruddy Pigeon is 28 cm long and weighs 170 g. It is unpatterned and mainly wine-purple in colour, becoming more rufous on the back. The tail and primary flight feathers are dark brown, the bill is black, and the legs and eyes are purple-red. The female is slightly duller and browner than the male, and the juvenile bird has a greyish brown head, neck and breast, with cinnamon or rufous scaling on the head and upperparts.
Ruddy Pigeon has a loud coo, k’-COO coo call. It is normally seen in pairs as it forages in the tree tops for mistletoe, fruits and berries, but may occasionally be seen on tracks and roadside seeking grit.
This species is replaced at lower altitudes by the very similar Short-billed Pigeon, Patagioenas nigrirostris. The two species are best separated by call.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Patagioenas subvinacea. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- Johnson, Kevin P.; de Kort, Selvino; Dinwoodey, Karen, Mateman, A. C.; ten Cate, Carel; Lessells, C. M. & Clayton, Dale H. (2001): A molecular phylogeny of the dove genera Streptopelia and Columba. Auk 118(4): 874-887. PDF fulltext
- Stiles, F. Gary & Skutch, Alexander F. (1990): A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-9600-4
