Ruddy Quail-Dove
Geotrygon montana
Shy and infrequently seen, rather chunky dove of tropical forests and plantations in the lowlands and foothills. Walks stealthily on the forest floor singly or in pairs. Most often seen as it flushes explosively from underfoot or flies low across a quiet road or trail. Bright ruddy-colored male is distinctive. Female is brown overall with a trace of the male’s facial pattern and has a pale vertical bar on the sides of the breast. Females lack the white tail corners as seen on White-tipped Doves and related species.
Identification
The ruddy quail-dove is approximately 19–28 cm in length. The bird is distinguished by having a rust-colored back, facial mask and similarly colored wings. The breast, rump and undereye stripe are lighter brown.
Taxonomy
In the first half of the 18th century the ruddy quail-dove was described and illustrated by several naturalists including John Ray in 1713, Hans Sloane in 1725 and George Edwards in 1743. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the ruddy quail-dove with all the other pigeons in the genus Columba. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Columba montana and cited the earlier authors. The specific epithet is from the Latin montanus meaning "of the mountains". The species is now placed in the genus Geotrygon that was introduced in 1847 by the English naturalist Philip Henry Gosse.<p>Two subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Geotrygon montana
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Geotrygon
Range and habitat
This bird is found in woodland and scrub forest. It also has adapted to coffee plantations. It is somewhat sensitive to forest fragmentation. These birds forage on the ground, mainly eating seeds. It will also take small invertebrates in its diet.
- Migration
- Nomadic movement
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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