Gray-fronted Green-Pigeon
Treron affinis
Beautifully-colored pigeon of peninsular India’s lowland and hill forests. Male has a deep velvet-red back and gray-blue crown. Female has an olive-green back and a more restricted crown patch. Song is odd and un-pigeonlike: a long ascending note followed by high undulating squeaking and bubbling noises, somewhat resembling the tuning of an old radio.
Identification
The male has a reddish mantle. The female has a green mantle.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Treron affinis
- Authority
- (Jerdon, 1840)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Treron
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The grey-fronted green pigeon usually occurs singly or in small groups. Its flight is fast and direct, with the regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings that are characteristic of pigeons in general. It eats the seeds and fruits of a wide variety of plants. It builds a stick nest in a tree and lays two white eggs.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Baker's Imperial-Pigeon
Ducula bakeri
A large, strikingly dark pigeon with an entirely dark upperside, a purple throat, a gray head, and a chestnut belly and underwing. Found mainly on large islands above 600 meters of elevation, but occasionally coastal. Unlike any other pigeon in Vanuatu. Most common call is a series of about 15 accelerating and shortening hoots.
Indian Spotted Creeper
Salpornis spilonota
Unmistakable. The only creeper in its range. Spotted and barred overall with long, slender, decurved bill and slightly rounded tail. Found in fairly open deciduous forest as well as in well-wooded country and mango groves, favoring mature trees with deep-fissured bark for foraging. Seen singly or in pairs, rarely in small flocks during the non-breeding season. Song is a complex phrase of clear, plaintive whistles with ascending and descending notes, some short and others longer. Calls are shorter but of similar plaintive quality.
Trinidad Piping-Guan
Pipile pipile
Large, turkey-like bird found only in the forests of northern Trinidad. It is black with white patches on the wings and crown, a light blue face, and an azure dewlap (flap of bare skin) that dangles from its throat. It is usually seen high in the trees, but on rare occasions can descend to the ground. Song is a series of drawn out, rising whistles, and it also sometimes rattles its wings loudly in flight. Locally known as “pawi”, this impressive bird is highly endangered due to hunting, and is regularly seen in only a few places, such as near the town of Grand Riviere.
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