Short-billed Pigeon
Encyclopedia
The Short-billed Pigeon, Patagioenas nigrirostris (see Johnson et al. 2001), is a largish pigeon
which breeds from southern Mexico
south to northwestern Colombia
. It is a member of a clade
of Patagioenas that contains the smaller and rather plain species with characteristic calls (Johnson et al. 2001) that constitute the subgenus Oenoenas (Mahler & Tubaro 2001).
It is found in lowland forest canopy and semi-open woodland, and builds a rudimentary platform nest out of twigs 5–30 m (15–100 ft) high in a tree or amongst vines. It lays one white egg.
The Short-billed Pigeon is 26.5 cm (10.5 ins) long and weighs 150 g. It is unpatterned and mainly wine-purple in colour, becoming browner on the belly and more olive-brown on the back. The tail and primary flight feathers are blackish, 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 scaling on the head and upperparts.
The Short-billed Pigeon has a complex, loud and high-pitched call coo... cu-COO k’CO coohoo; this is usually uttered singly or at least with considerable pauses between calls (Mahler & Tubaro 2001). It is normally sighted in pairs as it forages in the tree tops for mistletoe
, fruits and berries, but may also be seen on tracks and roadsides seeking grit or small invertebrate
s.
In southern Central America, this species is replaced at higher altitudes by its close relative, the very similar Ruddy Pigeon
, Patagioenas subvinacea. They can be distinguished by the slower, more complex "song" of the Short-billed Pigeon (Mahler & Tubaro 2001).
Dove
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...
which breeds from southern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
south to northwestern Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. It is a member of a clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
of Patagioenas that contains the smaller and rather plain species with characteristic calls (Johnson et al. 2001) that constitute the subgenus Oenoenas (Mahler & Tubaro 2001).
It is found in lowland forest canopy and semi-open woodland, and builds a rudimentary platform nest out of twigs 5–30 m (15–100 ft) high in a tree or amongst vines. It lays one white egg.
The Short-billed Pigeon is 26.5 cm (10.5 ins) long and weighs 150 g. It is unpatterned and mainly wine-purple in colour, becoming browner on the belly and more olive-brown on the back. The tail and primary flight feathers are blackish, 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 scaling on the head and upperparts.
The Short-billed Pigeon has a complex, loud and high-pitched call coo... cu-COO k’CO coohoo; this is usually uttered singly or at least with considerable pauses between calls (Mahler & Tubaro 2001). It is normally sighted in pairs as it forages in the tree tops for mistletoe
Mistletoe
Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemi-parasitic plants in several families in the order Santalales. The plants in question grow attached to and within the branches of a tree or shrub.-Mistletoe in the genus Viscum:...
, fruits and berries, but may also be seen on tracks and roadsides seeking grit or small invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s.
In southern Central America, this species is replaced at higher altitudes by its close relative, the very similar Ruddy Pigeon
Ruddy Pigeon
The Ruddy Pigeon, Patagioenas subvinacea, is a largish pigeon which breeds from Costa Rica south to western Ecuador, Bolivia and central Brazil. It belongs to a clade of small and rather plain species of Patagioenas with characteristic calls that constitute the subgenus Oenoenas...
, Patagioenas subvinacea. They can be distinguished by the slower, more complex "song" of the Short-billed Pigeon (Mahler & Tubaro 2001).
External links
- Short-billed Pigeon photo; Article (AOCR)
- Short-billed Pigeon photo gallery VIREO
- Short-billed Pigeon videos on the Internet Bird Collection
