Red-billed Pigeon

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Red-billed Pigeon

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Columbiformes
Family:	Columbidae
Genus:	Patagioenas
Species:	P. flavirostris

Binomial name

Patagioenas flavirostris
(Wagler, 1831)

Synonyms

Columba flavirostris Wagler, 1831

The Red-billed Pigeon, Patagioenas flavirostris (see Johnson et al. 2001), is a relatively large pigeon which breeds from southern Texas, United States, and northwestern Mexico south to Costa Rica. It belongs to a clade of Patagioenas which generally lack iridescent display plumage, except some vestiges in the Pale-vented Pigeon.

It is found in open country with some trees, large clearings and cultivation in lowlands and middle altitudes to 2100 meters. It builds a rudimentary platform nest out of twigs in a tree about 4-25 meters above the ground, usually on a horizontal branch or on a palm crown, and lays one white egg.

The Red-billed Pigeon is 30 centimeters long and weighs 230 grams. It is mainly wine-purple, becoming browner on the back, and with a grey tail, lower belly and flight feathers. The bill is white with a red base, and the legs and eyes are red. Juvenile birds are duller than adults and the plumage is brown-tinged.

It is normally seen alone or in pairs and rarely forms flocks. It feeds on the ground, seeking acorns, berries and buds.

The Red-billed Pigeon has a loud kuk c'c'coooo call that is given in rows; the initial short kuk is characteristic for this group of Patagioenas (Mahler & Tubaro 2001).

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Patagioenas flavirostris. 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

Mahler, Bettina & Tubaro, Pablo L. (2001): Relationship between song characters and morphology in New World pigeons. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 74(4): 533–539. doi:10.1006/bijl.2001.0596 (HTML abstract)