Reichenow pigeon

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Reichenow pigeon
Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Pigeon birds (Columbiformes)
Family : Pigeons (Columbidae)
Genre : Lovebirds ( streptopelia )
Type : Reichenow pigeon
Scientific name
Streptopeliareichenowi
( Erlanger , 1901)

The Reichenow pigeon ( Streptopelia reichowi ) is a monotypical pigeon species native to eastern Africa . The species is classified as near threatened by the IUCN .

Appearance

The Reichenow pigeon reaches a body length of 25 centimeters. It is about smaller than a laughing dove . The tail accounts for 11 centimeters of the total body length. The beak has a length of 1.5 to 1.7 centimeters. There is no gender dimorphism .

The head of the Reichenow pigeon is dark blue-gray. The throat is light, the chest and the flanks are dull blue-gray. The coat and the back are matte earth brown. A black collar runs down the neck. The outer wing covers are matt blue-gray with wide, light outer edges. The hand and arm wings are dark olive-brown to blackish. The upper tail covers are matt olive brown. The middle pair of tail feathers is brown, the outer tail feathers are brown with gray outside flags and white ends. The chest is ash gray, the belly and the underside of the tail are whitish. The beak is dark, the iris is yellowish. The feet are reddish.

Possible confusion

In the range of the Reichenow pigeon there are four other lovebird species with which it can be confused.

The Kapturt dove is of a similar size, but noticeably paler. Their plumage is less brown than that of the Reichenow pigeon. The underside of the body of the Cape pigeon is also less pale than that of the Reichenow pigeon. The North African laughing pigeon is also of a similar size. But it has plumage with a warmer shade of brown. The underside of the body is significantly more pink. The iris of this species is red and not yellowish as in the Reichenow pigeon.

The pigeon with glasses is larger and has a stronger build. It also has a wider collar. On the top of the body it is more brown. The pigeon with glasses also has a red iris. The half-moon dove is significantly larger than the Reichenow dove, is significantly darker on the upper side of the body and has a pale pink head and an equally colored underside. It also has a red orbital ring and a red iris.

distribution and habitat

The Reichenow pigeon has a comparatively small distribution area. It occurs exclusively in East Africa, where it inhabits river valleys in southern Somalia, southern Ethiopia and the extreme north of Kenya.

The Reichenow pigeon is a forest-dwelling species that can generally not be found further than two kilometers from rivers in Ethiopia. It can only be found further away from water bodies in regions with extensive irrigation systems. In Somalia it avoids acacia forests and occurs only in stocks of Ethiopian palmyra palms and doum palms .

Way of life

The way of life of the Reichenow pigeon has so far been very insufficiently investigated. It lives in small flocks and is often associated with spectacled pigeons and Kapturteltoves . She looks for food mainly on the ground. Occasionally, however, it picks berries and small fruits directly from the branches of small trees and shrubs. Otherwise your food spectrum consists of seeds. The breeding season falls in the months of January and February. The nest is a pigeon-typical loose platform made of small branches and is built in a small tree or bush. The clutch consists of two eggs.

Dedication names

The German name and the specific epithet honor the German ornithologist Anton Reichenow (1847–1941). Reichenow worked at the Museum für Naturkunde , Berlin , from 1874 and was most recently deputy director of Essen. In 1893 he became general secretary of the German Ornithological Society and from 1893 to 1921 he was editor-in-chief of the Journal für Ornithologie . As a specialist in the African bird world, he brought out three volumes, The Birds of Africa (1900 to 1905).

literature

  • David Gibbs, Eustace Barnes, 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, Josef Wolters: Pigeons - The types 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

Individual evidence

  1. Streptopelia reichenowi in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2012. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2012. Accessed December 2, 2016th
  2. a b c d Gibbs, Barnes and Cox: Pigeons and Doves , p. 261.
  3. ^ Gibbs, Barnes and Cox: Pigeons and Doves , p. 262.
  4. Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins: Whose Bird? Men and Women Commemorated in the Common Names of Birds . Christopher Helm, London 2003, p. 205.