Madagascar Green-Pigeon
Treron australis
Medium-sized chunky pigeon that is mostly pale green, with black wings and a pale wing stripe. Flight is very fast and direct. Sometimes found alone, though more often in small groups. Widespread but erratic; local abundance linked to the availability of fruit, its main food. Found in many habitats including spiny forest, dry deciduous forest, rainforest, villages, and scrub, mostly at low and middle elevations. Most common in dry habitats in western Madagascar. Voice is a quiet but maniacal series of sputters, whistles, and cackles. This is the only green pigeon within its range.
Taxonomy
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the Madagascar green pigeon in his Ornithologie based on specimen that he had examined. He used the French name Le pigeon ramier verd de Madagascar and the Latin Palumbus viridis madagascariensis. The species was also illustrated in Edme-Louis Daubenton's Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus revised his Mantissa Plantarum in 1771 he added an appendix which included a description of the Madagascar green pigeon. He coined the binomial name Columba australis and cited the earlier authors. The specific epithet australis is the Latin word for "southern". The species is now placed in the genus Treron that was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot.<p>Two subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Treron australis
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1771)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Treron
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Sladen's Barbet
Gymnobucco sladeni
Dark, chunky barbet with an odd tuft of buff feathers on its forehead. Usually found in small groups on and around dead trees in lowland rainforest, gallery forest, and secondary growth. Sometimes occurs alongside Gray-throated Barbet. The vocalizations include nasal “squeaky toy” calls and agitated dry rattles. Gray-throated Barbet also has a dark bill, but Sladen’s Barbet is separated from that species by its largely unfeathered head.
Sulawesi Thrush
Turdus turdoides
A rather large olive-brown thrush with conspicuous orange-yellow legs and bill, a bold black brow, and an obvious yellow eye-ring. Juveniles are scaled below. Found in montane forest, foraging both on the ground and high in the understory, sometimes joining mixed-species flocks. Confined to Sulawesi, where distinguished from Geomalia and Island Thrush by presence of black brow and lack of rufous belly. Sulawesi Thrush is also shorter-tailed than Geomalia. Song is typical of thrushes: a rich, melodious, mournful song with fluty cadences. Also gives chattering calls and a high, weak “tsip.”
Rufous-necked Sparrowhawk
Tachyspiza erythrauchen
A small, slender hawk with a yellow bill base, yellow legs, and orange-yellow eyes. Adults are slaty-gray above with a rufous collar and a vinous breast that fades on the belly to light pink in the north Moluccas and to white in the south Moluccas. Immatures are brown and heavily streaked below. Does not soar; typically seen perched. Inhabits tall forest from sea level to foothills. Confined to the Moluccas. Rufous collar of adult separates it from adult Chinese Sparrowhawk, Moluccan Goshawk, and central Moluccan Variable Goshawks. Smaller than Moluccan, Meyer’s, and north Moluccan Variable Goshawks. Paler-bellied than Moluccan and Variable Goshawks. Immature Rufous-necked Sparrowhawk is streaked underneath, without bars, unlike immatures of Moluccan and Variable Goshawks and Chinese Sparrowhawk. Immature Meyer’s Goshawk is similar, but Rufous-necked is smaller-bodied and smaller-billed. Underwings not white with black tips, unlike Chinese Sparrowhawk. Gives a shrill “ki-ki-ki-ki…” series.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.