Crested Quail-Dove
Geotrygon versicolor
A plump dove that inhabits dense, moist forests in foothills and mountains. Prefers dense leaf litter, but is sometimes found along trails and roadsides. Its namesake crest is short and swept back, so it is not always readily apparent. However, it can be told from Ruddy Quail-Dove by its larger size, mostly purple upperparts, gray underparts, and lack of a bold pale facial stripe. Song is deep “hoo-oo-hoo,” with emphasis on the middle segment.
Identification
Male crested quail-doves are 27 to 31 cm (11 to 12 in) long; females are 27 to 30 cm (11 to 12 in). They weigh about 225 g (7.9 oz). Males have a black forehead and a drab brown crown. The nape is gray and has elongated feathers producing the eponymous crest. The back and sides of the neck are metallic bronze or bronze-green. The face is mostly gray with a broad reddish buff malar stripe. The gray continues to the belly; the belly and flanks are chestnut. The upper back and wing coverts are iridescent reddish purple, the mid-back bluish purple, and the lower back and tail greenish black with purple iridescence. The eye is red, surrounded by bare gray skin. Many females look the same as the male, but sometimes they are paler overall and browner on the neck and belly. Juveniles are duller than the adults and most feathers show rust-colored edges.
Taxonomy
At one time the crested quail-dove was the sole member of genus Geotrygon. Most of what are now the other species in the genus were previously in genus Oreopeleia, which was merged into Geotrygon. The crested quail-dove is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Geotrygon versicolor
- Authority
- (Lafresnaye, 1846)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Geotrygon
Range and habitat
The crested quail-dove is endemic to Jamaica. It is concentrated in the Blue and John Crow Mountains, the Mount Diablo area, and the Cockpit Country. It inhabits mid-level and montane forest in those areas, at elevations as low as 100 m (330 ft) in Cockpit Country and as high as 1,800 m (5,900 ft) elsewhere. It shuns the lowland, dry forest, and cultivated woodlands.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Black-faced Grassquit
Melanospiza bicolor
Small sparrowlike bird found in the Caribbean and northern South America. Males are dull olive above with a variable amount of black on the face and breast. Females are plain grayish-olive overall; note the small size, short tail, and pinkish bill and legs. Very similar to female Sooty Grassquit. Found in pairs or small groups in shrubby or grassy areas and forest edge, typically on or near the ground.
Mountain Yellow-Warbler
Iduna similis
Medium-sized, long-tailed, long-billed warbler. The back is olive-green and the underparts yellow. Found in montane habitats including bamboo, moist scrub, and forest edge. An active and energetic bird of the undergrowth. The distinctive song is an exuberant mix of downslurred and upslurred whistles and low rattles. Similar to African Yellow-Warbler, but in the areas where they overlap, mostly found at higher elevations, and distinguished by the olive-green, not black cap.
Green Indigobird
Vidua codringtoni
Nest parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of Peters’s Twinspot. Breeding males are glossy greenish-black, and in good light may show a paler gray wash across the head and breast. Females and non-breeding males are streaky and brown on the back, with a bold facial pattern and pale underparts with gray across the breast. The bill is whitish and the legs pale red. Found along forest edge, and in cultivation and moist woodland. The song is a fast mix of scolding and squeaky notes, often mixed with imitations of the vocalizations of its host twinspot: a fast, silvery trill. Similar to other indigobirds, but breeding male separated by its greenish gloss and all-black wings. Non-breeding male and female can be tentatively identified by the gray wash across the breast.
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