Gray-breasted pigeon
| Gray-breasted pigeon | ||||||||||
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Gray-breasted pigeon |
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| Leptotila cassini | ||||||||||
| Lawrence , 1867 |
The gray-breasted pigeon ( Leptotila cassini ) is a species of pigeon birds that occurs exclusively in Central America and the far north of South America. The population of the species was classified in the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species in 2016 as “ Least Concern (LC) ” = “not endangered”.
Appearance
The gray breast pigeon reaches a body length between 22.5 and 28 centimeters. It is a little bigger than a laughing dove . Their physique is somewhat more compact and strong than the other representatives of the genus of the sonic swinging pigeon .
The males of the gray-breasted pigeon have a gray forehead that turns gray-brown at the top. The nape and the back of the neck are reddish-brown. The coat is wine reddish gray to dark olive in color. The wing covers, the wing feathers, the rump and back as well as the upper tail coverts are dark olive brown with a slightly reddish tint. The outer two pairs of tail feathers are dark olive brown with a black end band and white feather tips. The remaining tail feathers are olive brown.
The chin and throat are white, the face is pale gray with a shade of pink. The sides of the neck and the chest are gray. The belly is gray with a pink shade. The flanks and legs are olive-brown, the under-tail-coverts are also olive-brown, but somewhat lighter than legs and flanks. The featherless skin around the eyes is crimson. The beak is black. The feet and legs are bright coral red.
The females are generally a little more dull in color than the males. The young birds, on the other hand, are significantly darker than the adult birds. The feathers of the wing covers still have cinnamon-colored hems. Their feet and legs are still dull red.
Like all sounding pigeons, the gray-breasted pigeon produces a whirring flight noise as an instrumental sound . This noise is similar to the flight noise of the partridge and gives the genus its name. It is generated by an outermost flywheel, narrowed in the last third.
Possible confusion
In the distribution area of the gray chest pigeon there are several other types of the sounding pigeon, with which it can be confused. The white-forehead pigeon inhabits similar habitats as the gray-breasted pigeon , but all subspecies in the gray-breasted pigeon distribution area have a broad white central band on their tail feathers and the featherless skin around the eye is blue and not red as in the gray-breasted pigeon. In addition, the call, which is two-syllable in the white-forehead dove, differs.
The gray-headed dove is paler than the gray-breasted dove and has a white belly and a white rump. The tail of the two species is similar, but the gray-headed pigeon has a greater proportion of white. The call of the gray-headed pigeon is similarly monosyllabic as that of the gray-headed pigeon, but the calls of the gray-headed pigeon are longer.
distribution and habitat
The distribution area of the gray-breasted pigeon extends from Chiapas in Mexico via Guatemala and the south of Belize as well as the coastal area of Honduras to the west of Nicaragua and the far north of Colombia. Basically, the gray chest pigeon occurs in locations between the lowlands and 500 meters above sea level. In Honduras, however, you can still find it at altitudes of up to 1400 meters, in Costa Rica and Panama it occurs up to 750 meters.
The habitat of the gray chest pigeon are primary forests and tall secondary forests . In Mexico and the north of Central America it occurs in the tropical rainforest. In Costa Rica they can also be found in gardens and sparse tree-covered regions if they border on forest areas. It is then often associated with the white-fronted pigeon .
Way of life
The gray chest pigeon is a resident bird that prefers to stay on the ground. This pigeon only flies up when disturbed to seek protection in the undergrowth. She lives solitary or in pairs. It finds its food in the leafy layer of the forest floor or at the edge of the forest. It eats seeds and insects. The breeding season varies depending on the area of distribution. In Costa Rica it falls in the period February to May and July to September. In Panama, gray-breasted pigeons breed from February to September, in Colombia they breed from January to April. The nest is a pigeon-typical loose platform made of small branches, which is between one and three meters above the ground. The clutch consists of two eggs.
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 .
- Alois Münst and Josef Wolters: Tauben - The species of wild pigeons , 2nd expanded and revised edition, Verlag Karin Wolters, Bottrop 1999, ISBN 3-9801504-9-6 .
- 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
- Leptotila cassinii inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016.1. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2016.