Ochre-bellied Dove
Leptotila ochraceiventris
Rare, colorful forest dove found in southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru. It is mostly reddish-violet with a darker purple back and wings and paler forehead and belly. If seen poorly, it might be mistaken for White-tipped Dove or Pallid Dove, but note the purple (not brown) back and the more rosy underparts. Inhabits dry, deciduous forest as well as humid forest, and may be only a seasonal visitor in some areas. Typically encountered walking quietly on the forest floor, but may ascend to a low perch to sing. Song is a soft, low-pitched, descending coo.
Identification
The ochre-bellied dove is 23 to 25 cm (9.1 to 9.8 in) long and weighs about 146 g (5.1 oz). It has a whitish pink forehead, a rusty purple crown, and an iridescent purple hindneck. The rest of the upperparts are dark olive-brown with bronzy green or purple iridescence on the mantle. Its inner tail feathers are dark brown and the outer ones black with white tips. Its throat is white, its breast reddish, and its lower breast, flanks, and belly are buff. It has a yellow eye.
Taxonomy
The ochre-bellied dove is monotypic. It is closely related to the grey-chested dove (Leptotila cassinii) and Tolima dove (Leptotila conoveri), and might form a superspecies with them.
- Scientific name
- Leptotila ochraceiventris
- Authority
- Chapman, 1914
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Leptotila
Range and habitat
The ochre-bellied dove is found in the lowlands of western Ecuador and separately in the lowlands and Andes of southwestern Ecuador into northwestern Peru. It is a year round resident in some parts of its range but apparently makes seasonal movements in other parts. It inhabits a variety of landscapes including moist evergreen, semi-deciduous, and dry deciduous forests; lower montane forest; and humid cloudforest. In elevation it mostly ranges between 500 and 1,800 m (1,600 and 5,900 ft) but has been found as low as 80 m (260 ft) and as high as 2,625 m (8,612 ft).
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
The ochre-bellied dove usually forages on the forest floor and up to 4 m (13 ft) above it. Its diet is not well known but it has been observed eating fruit plucked from trees. It is usually found alone or in pairs but also in groups of up to five with other doves at drinking pools.<p>The ochre-bellied dove's breeding phenology is almost unknown. Based on observations of song activity and birds in breeding condition, it appears to nest between January and April and again in August and September.<p>The ochre-bellied dove's song is "a quite distinctive single slightly downslurred note 'wOOOooo', with a clear emphasis in the beginning, then gradually fading out."
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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