West Peruvian Dove
Zenaida meloda
Common and conspicuous dove of desert lowlands and foothills. Found in wide range of open and semiopen habitats from town streets and gardens to farmland and palm oases; range expanding rapidly south. Feeds on ground and in trees, sometime with smaller and plainer Eared Dove. Bold white wing band and broad white tail corners are distinctive; also note the violet-blue eyering. Mournful cooing song commonly heard all day long year-round.
Identification
The West Peruvian dove has prominent white bands on its wings and wide tails corners, also white. Its eyes have violet-blue rings.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Zenaida meloda
- Authority
- (Tschudi, 1843)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Zenaida
Range and habitat
Z. meloda can be found in desert lowlands and foothills in many open and semi-open habitats. These include streets, gardens, farms, and palm oases.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Malaysian Rail-babbler
Eupetes macrocerus
Astoundingly odd ground-dwelling inhabitant of dense lowland and foothill forests; typically quite shy and reclusive, but utterly unmistakable. Warm brown with a burst of bright color on the face: black, white, yellow, orange, and rusty red. Of these, the white and black are most obvious if the bird is under heavy cover or in the shade (as it often is). Long, slender, wader-like legs, neck, and bill are unlike any other forest ground-dweller in range. Displaying birds inflate purple balloons on the neck and sing a haunting whistle that gradually rises and falls in pitch.
White-bellied Drongo
Dicrurus caerulescens
A small drongo with a dull-black back and a relatively short, distinctively forked tail. The “white-bellied” form has an extensively white belly diffusely demarcated from the dark gray throat and breast. The “white-vented” from is restricted to Sri Lanka and is darker overall, with dark gray underparts and a white vent. The species is similar to juvenile Black and Ashy Drongos, which are larger and have smaller amounts of white, diffused with a dusky color or scaling, on the belly and vent. White-bellied is found in dry and open forests across the Indian subcontinent.
Scarlet-rumped Cacique
Cacicus uropygialis
Medium-sized forest bird, mostly black. Look for combination of bright red rump (visible in flight) and light blue eye. Long, pointed, pale yellow bill. Usually in small flocks moving through the canopy of forest and edges.
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