Gray-fronted Quail-Dove
Geotrygon caniceps
A multicolored chunky dove of dense, wet forests with thick leaf-litter. It is most often found on the ground, sometimes in association with Blue-headed or Ruddy Quail-Doves. Walks with an unusual posture with chest down, head forward, and tail up. Its unstriped head, pale gray forehead, and largely iridescent body eliminate other species within range. Song is upslurred repeated “cooo-oop,” sometimes preceded by “oo-oo-oo-oo-oo.”
Identification
The male grey-fronted quail-dove is 26 to 30 cm (10 to 12 in) long and the female 27 cm (11 in). They weigh 192 to 210 g (6.8 to 7.4 oz). The adult male's forehead ("front") is grayish white darkening to gray on the rest of the head, with slight purplish iridescence on the back of it. The medium gray throat darkens on the breast, whose sides are gossy purple. The belly is cream and the vent area rufous. The shoulders are glossy purple, the lower back and rump bluish purple, and the tail gray. The adult female is very similar but duller. Juveniles have a brownish gray forehead, pale gray throat, dark brown upperparts, and chestnut underparts.
Taxonomy
The grey-fronted quail-dove and most of what are now the other species in genus Geotrygon were previously in genus Oreopeleia. In addition, it was considered conspecific with what is now the white-fronted quail-dove (Geotrygon leucometopia) under the name "grey-headed quail-dove". Though the taxonomies of the North American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (AOS), the International Ornithological Committee (IOC), and Clements use the English name "grey-fronted quail-dove" for the current G. caniceps, the Handbook of the Birds of the World retains the pre-split "grey-headed quail-dove" name for it.<p>The grey-fronted quail-dove is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Geotrygon caniceps
- Authority
- (Gundlach, 1852)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Geotrygon
Range and habitat
The grey-fronted quail-dove was formerly found throughout Cuba but is now apparently limited to the island's eastern margin and the Sierra del Rosario in the west. It favors wet primary and secondary forests in the lowlands and at elevations up to 1,200 m (3,900 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The grey-fronted quail-dove forages on the ground, singly or in pairs, where it feeds on seeds and small invertebrates.<p>The grey-fronted quail-dove's breeding season spans at least from Jan to August. It builds a nest of twigs and leaves lined with rootlets and grass and places it 1 to 3 m (3.3 to 9.8 ft) above ground, typically in a bush surrounded by tall grass. The clutch size is one or two.<p>The grey-fronted quail-dove's song is a "long series of short, low-pitched 'haoo' or 'cooo' notes" that can be given slowly or very fast. It sings year round though less in the wet season.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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A very small, dark grayish-brown bird with a short tail, a reddish-brown throat, and a black-and-white scalloped pattern on the belly. Inconspicuously feeds in low, thick vegetation, where it is very hard to see. Similar to Rufous-throated Wren-Babbler, but Mishmi Wren-Babbler is darker overall, with a distinctive white chin and a white edge to the throat. The song is a strong, melodic burst of notes repeated 2-4 times and often followed by a short trill.
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