Malabar Imperial-Pigeon
Ducula cuprea
Large elegant pearl-gray pigeon with dark-brown wings. There is a broad gray band across the end of the tail that is especially obvious in flight. Inhabits mature rainforest and deciduous forest, mostly in foothills and montane areas, but sometimes down to sea level. Forages in upper levels of forest, often in small flocks. Flies powerfully over the canopy. Song is deep and resonant: “ouh-woOO WOO.” General coloration similar to Nilgiri Wood-Pigeon, but larger, and lacks that species’ black-and-white patch on the back of the neck. Similar size and structure to Green Imperial-Pigeon, but has many differences, including a brown rather than green back, and the lack of a chestnut undertail patch.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Ducula cuprea
- Authority
- (Jerdon, 1840)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Ducula
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Turquoise Cotinga
Cotinga ridgwayi
Unmistakable in range: male is stunning electric-blue with purple patch on throat and belly. Female completely different; pale grayish with heavy spotting below and scaling on back. Note shape: rather plump and short-tailed with small bill and large eye. Tends to be slow-moving, perching obviously atop the canopy or inconspicuously feeding within a fruiting tree. Found in forested areas, singly or in pairs.
Black-spotted Bare-eye
Phlegopsis nigromaculata
Distinctive colorful antbird of dense rainforest understory. Black head and breast, reddish brown wings and tail, and tan back and upper wings spotted with black. Prominent bare patch of red skin around the eye. Sexes similar. Most common in the dense undergrowth of seasonally flooded forest, especially in heliconias, but may be found anywhere in dense forest undergrowth. One of the most common antbirds at army ant swarms in its range (but only rarely seen away from ants). Distinctive by voice, a descending series of 2 or 3 whistles, the first clear, the following notes burry.
Blue-throated Starfrontlet
Coeligena helianthea
Large and dazzling hummingbird found in the Andes of northern Colombia and barely into western Venezuela. Males look dark at a distance, but are unmistakable in good light: dark blackish head and breast with a green forecrown, a purplish-blue throat patch, and a glittering purplish-pink belly. On females, look for a buffy throat, a purplish-pink belly, and a long straight bill. Occurs in montane forests, edges, and gardens; visits feeders.
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