White-headed dove
| White-headed dove | ||||||||||
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White-headed pigeon ( Patagioenas leucocephala ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Patagioenas leucocephala | ||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The white-headed pigeon ( Patagioenas leucocephala ), also called the white-capped pigeon or diademed pigeon , is a species of pigeon birds. It occurs in North and Central America and the Caribbean. The IUCN classifies the species as near threatened because it is a lowland dweller and thus needs a habitat that is particularly affected by habitat changes. It is also hunted in parts of its range.
Appearance
The white-headed pigeon reaches a body length of 33 centimeters. Their body size corresponds to that of a small city pigeon. However, the body of the white-headed pigeon is a bit slimmer. The flat front head is particularly striking.
The body plumage of the white-headed pigeon is overall dark slate gray. The top of the head is white. There are shiny green spots on the sides of the neck. The feathers are lined with black here. Another black spot can be found on the neck. The beak is gray-reddish at the base and brightens horn-colored towards the tip. The dark circles are light, the iris is yellowish. A gender dimorphism is present. In the female, the eponymous white head cap has a brownish shimmer and is not pure white as in the male. The plumage is also a little more brown.
Distribution and way of life
The distribution area of the white-headed pigeon extends from the southern tip of Florida over the Bahamas, the Greater and Lesser Antilles to the northwest of Panama. She is a decidedly lowland dweller. Their preferred habitat in the coastal areas are mangrove groves . During the breeding season, the white-headed pigeon only uses isolated mangrove areas on the coast, in which the nests are better protected from raccoons and which are rarely frequented by humans. On the other hand, they also look for food during the breeding season in moist hardwood forests that either directly border the mangroves or are on the mainland. This makes her a living space specialist.
The white-headed pigeon is a migratory bird. The populations widespread in Florida overwinter in the Bahamas or Cuba. The pigeons living on the coasts of Central America migrate to Panama.
Keeping in human care
The white-headed pigeon was first shown at the Amsterdam Zoo in 1836. The first breeding succeeded in 1865 at the London Zoo. It is considered a difficult species to keep because the males are very aggressive and occasionally kill their breeding partner. This may be due to the fact that white-headed pigeons have to be kept in larger flocks so that intraspecific aggression is not concentrated on a few birds. The Havana Zoo maintains a group of almost 50 white-headed pigeons in a very large aviary and breeds these pigeons there successfully.
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. Verlag M. & H. Schaper, Alfeld Hannover 1996, ISBN 3-7944-0184-0 .
Web links
- Patagioenas leucocephala inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2016.