White-nosed dove
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White-nosed dove |
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| Columba albinucha | ||||||||||
| Sassi , 1911 |
The white-nosed dove ( Columba albinucha ) is a large and strongly built species of pigeon birds, which is attributed to the subfamily Columbinae . The kind is a representative of the Afrotropis .
The IUCN classifies the white-nosed pigeon as a potentially endangered ( near threatened ) species. No subspecies are distinguished.
Appearance
Body dimensions and feathered body parts
The white-nosed pigeon reaches a body length of 33 to 34 centimeters and is therefore about the size of a wood pigeon . The tail plumage accounts for an average of 11.7 centimeters, making it slightly longer than that of the wood pigeon. The beak is 1.7 inches long. The weight is between 280 and 290 grams.
The beak is black-violet or red on the basal half and with a red to yellow tip. The feet and legs are red.
Adult birds
There is no noticeable gender dimorphism . The females are only burgundy on the coat.
The crown of the head is dark reddish brown, the nape and the back of the neck are white. On the back and sides of the neck, the feathers have a dark red-brown feather base with silver-white feather tips, which makes the pigeon look scaly or striped on these parts of the body. The dark red-brown feathers on the coat are only narrowly lined with white. The shoulder feathers and the wing coverts are solid slate blue. The arm wings are black-gray, while the hand wings are black. The pale brown basal half of the control feathers is covered by the upper tail covers, so that the upper side of the tail plumage appears pale blue-gray. The chin, throat and face are silver-gray, the chest is dark red-brown with light ash-gray feather edges, so that this part of the body looks scaly. The belly is dark red-brown with isolated white spots. The under tail-coverts are light gray, the tail plumage is gray-white on the underside.
Fledglings
So far, little data is available on the young birds. In the British Museum of Natural History there is only one type specimen of a young bird. This is predominantly pinnate dark slate gray. The mangle and shoulder feathers are dark gray-brown with rust-brown feather edges.
Possible confusion
The white-necked pigeon can be confused with the olive pigeon found in the same distribution area. However, this has a gray neck, white speckled, dark red-brown wing-covers, a wine-gray fore breast, black tail plumage and the featherless body parts are bright yellow. Unlike the olive pigeon, the white-naped pigeon also inhabits palm forests. However, the two species are occasionally associated.
Distribution area and habitat
The distribution area of the white-nosed pigeon is comparatively small. It includes some mountain ranges in the west of Cameroon , in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the west of Uganda . White-nosed pigeons are also sporadically observed in the south of Sudan , in the border area with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The white-nosed pigeon is a forest pigeon. It occurs in both primary and secondary tropical rainforests. The altitude distribution ranges up to 1,800 meters in Uganda and up to 1,100 meters in Cameroon.
Way of life
The white-nosed pigeon spends most of the day in the treetops, but also comes to the ground in clearings and water holes. The pigeon species, which has so far been little explored in its habits, eats various fruits, which it usually picks directly from the branches. It breeds in dense trees or undergrowth. The nest is high up in the tree canopy. The clutch consists of a single egg. The exact breeding season is not known, but is believed to be between 17 and 20 days.
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 - Die Arten der Wildtauben , 2nd expanded and revised edition, 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, Alfeld, Hannover 1996, ISBN 3-7944-0184-0 .