Ring-tailed Pigeon
Patagioenas caribaea
A large pale pigeon primarily of montane and foothill forests; often occurs in small flocks and found high in trees. The banded tail is unique among pigeons in its range. It also lacks the ruddy shoulders and white wing-stripe of Plain Pigeon. White-crowned Pigeon is distinctly darker. Calls include a soft, deep “oooOOO-hooo” and a throaty “croo-croo-croooo,” both of which are quite different from the “HOOO-hoo-hoooo” of the Plain Pigeon.
Identification
The male ring-tailed pigeon is 38 to 48.5 cm (15.0 to 19.1 in) long and the female 38 to 43 cm (15 to 17 in). One bird whose sex was not reported weighed 250 g (8.8 oz). The adult male's head, neck, and underparts are reddish to pinkish. Its hindneck has a metallic green or bronze patch and the rest of the upperparts are brownish gray. The tail is gray (darker near the body) with a slate band across its middle. The eye is orange surrounded by bare red skin. The adult female is similar to the male but with an olive or brown cast to the wings, redder underparts, and a less metallic hindneck. The juvenile is mostly grayish with a brown cast and a fawn to cinnamon belly.
Taxonomy
The ring-tailed pigeon is monotypic. Along with the Chilean pigeon (P. araycana) and band-tailed pigeon (P. fasciata), it may form a superspecies.
- Scientific name
- Patagioenas caribaea
- Authority
- (Jacquin, 1784)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Patagioenas
Range and habitat
The ring-tailed pigeon is found only in Jamaica, and is most common in the John Crow Mountains, the eastern Blue Mountains, and the Cockpit Country. It mostly inhabits wet highland forest, and wet limestone forest in the Cockpit Country. In elevation it ranges as high as 2,000 m (6,600 ft).
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Javan Myna
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Originally restricted to the Indonesian islands of Java and Bali, this crested myna has since been introduced to Singapore, Taiwan, and various parts of Malaysia and Indonesia. Dark gray overall with a spiffy erect crest and a bright yellowish-orange bill. Darker than Jungle Myna, with which it overlaps in both its native and introduced ranges. Also compare with Crested Myna; note Javan’s brighter bill and white vent. Bold and social, foraging in farms, parks, and gardens. Roosts in large noisy flocks, often close to human habitation.
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