Araucanian pigeon

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Araucanian pigeon
Araucanian pigeon

Araucanian pigeon

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Pigeon birds (Columbiformes)
Family : Pigeons (Columbidae)
Genre : American pigeons ( Patagioenas )
Type : Araucanian pigeon
Scientific name
Patagioenas araucana
( Lesson & Garnot , 1827)

The Araucanian pigeon ( Patagioenas araucana ), also written Araucanian pigeon and occasionally referred to as the Chilean pigeon , is a species within the genus of the American field pigeons . It is a large, well-built pigeon that occurs in South America and is a part mover there . No subspecies are distinguished.

The stock situation of the Araucanian pigeon was classified in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2016 as “ Least Concern (LC) ” = “not endangered”. In the middle of the 20th century, numerous individuals of this species of pigeon succumbed to Newcastle disease . Since then, the stocks have recovered and it is common in some areas.

features

Araucanian pigeons reach a body length of 34 to 35 centimeters and thus corresponds roughly to the size of a city pigeon. There is hardly any gender dimorphism .

The males are dark wine-red on the forehead, crown and neck. At the back of the neck they have a narrow white band as the upper border of the iridescent bronze-green shimmering feathers on the neck. The coat is dark wine-red and turns into a reddish chestnut brown on the wing covers. The feathers of the large wing covers are lined with pale gray. The wings are black-gray, the outer hand wings are thinly lined with whitish. The back and rump are blue-gray, the upper tail-coverts are pale ash-gray. The tail feathers are blue-gray and are cross-banded black and light gray at the end. The chin and throat are pale wine-red and merge into a deeper wine-red on the chest and stomach. The flanks and the under tail-coverts are blue-gray. The iris is orange with a narrow pink or yellow outer ring. The orbital ring is purple. The beak is black and the legs and feet are bright coral red.

Females are similarly colored as the males, but overall a little more dull and brownish. Young birds are similar to females, but their plumage is gray-brown in color.

In the distribution area of ​​the Araucanian pigeon there is no other species with which it can be confused. The voice of the Araucanian pigeon is a soft gu-guuu, which is interrupted by the occasional cooing rrraarp calls.

distribution and habitat

The distribution area of ​​the Araukaner Pigeon is the west of South America. Its distribution area is limited to Chile and Argentina, the northern distribution limit is 37 ° S, in Argentina it is to be found in the west of the province of Neuquén , the province of Río Negro and the province of Chubut . Araucanian pigeons, which are found in the extreme south of the distribution area, migrate north in the winter months.

The habitat of the Araucanian pigeon are dry forests. They prefer forests with a high population of Coihue southern beeches and Chilean araucarias . In these forests, however, the Araucanian pigeon prefers to nest in bamboo thickets. In recent decades, this species has also adapted to cultivated land and more open forest landscapes.

Way of life

Araucanian pigeons

The Araucanian pigeon is a part mover . Migration is triggered by seasonal changes in temperature and the availability of food. They stay in pairs and smaller groups. Larger accumulations only occur outside the breeding season , when they migrate in search of new food grounds.

Araucanian pigeons are predominantly tree dwellers that rarely come to the ground. Their preferred food is the pine nut-like seeds of the Chilean aurakanie. But it also eats a number of fruits and berries.

The breeding season lasts from December to March, occasionally even until May. The species often nests in forest areas in colonies, if these have appropriate bamboo thickets. The nest is a loosely built platform made of branches that can be on a tree, in a bush or in a bamboo thicket. The clutch comprises a single egg. The incubation period is 18 to 19 days , as is the case with the scaly neck pigeon . The young birds fledge after four to five weeks.

attitude

The first zoological garden to import the Araucanian pigeon was the London Zoo in 1876 . The first breeding came to a breeder in France in 1922.

literature

  • David Gibbs, Eustace Barnes and John Cox: Pigeons and Doves - A Guide to the Pigeons and Doves of the World . Pica Press, Sussex 2001, ISBN 90-74345-26-3 .
  • Gerhard Rösler: The wild pigeons of the earth - free living, keeping and breeding . M. & H. Schaper Verlag, Alfeld-Hannover 1996, ISBN 3-7944-0184-0 .

Web links

Commons : Araucanian pigeon  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Single receipts

  1. ↑ Rösler: The wild pigeons of the earth - free life, keeping and breeding . P. 103
  2. ↑ a b c d e Gibbs, Barnes and Cox: Pigeons and Doves , p. 223.
  3. ↑ Patagioenas araucana in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2016 Posted by: BirdLife International, 2016. Retrieved on 3 October 2017th
  4. ^ Voice of the Araucanian dove on Xeno Canto , accessed on September 25, 2016
  5. ↑ Rösler: The wild pigeons of the earth - free life, keeping and breeding . P. 103