Sultan's Cuckoo-Dove
Macropygia doreya
A large, long-tailed brown dove with a pale brown head and underparts and darker rufous-brown upperparts. Male displays little or no barring on breast and a pale nape patch. Females show extensive barring on neck. Singles, pairs, or small groups inhabit varied habitats, including forests, edges, woodlands, and gardens from the coast to the mountains. Larger than Black-billed Cuckoo-Dove, with a paler underside and an unbarred tail. Gives a distinctive two-note call, rising on the final part: “puk-hooa.”
Identification
They are typically about 35–37 centimetres (14–15 in) long. The males tend to have a slight rose/green colouration on their nape and neck. Many subspecies have whitish underparts, fine dark barring below and/or a whitish cap.<p>The call of this dove is a very loud "whoop-a whoop" with some differences depending on the subspecies involved.<p>Sultan's cuckoo-dove inhabits rainforest, woodland, scrubland and rainforest regrowth areas.<p>The doves can often be seen in pairs or groups. Its diet consists of berries from both native plants and introduced weed species. They can be nomadic, depending on the supplies of food. They tend to fly short distances and low to the ground with great strength.<p>Breeding occurs in spring and summer. The nest is a flat platform of sticks and vines, either in a fork of a tree or on top of a low tree. One, creamy white, egg is laid.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Macropygia doreya
- Authority
- Bonaparte, 1854
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Macropygia
Photos
Other Birds
Buff-spotted Flufftail
Sarothrura elegans
Small rail of forest understory. Extremely shy and elusive bird that is unlikely to be seen unless expressly looking for it. Male has a rufous hood and black back with buff spots. Female plain and brown. Both sexes have a barred tail. Found in the understory of thick forest and adjacent scrub and gardens. Restricted to montane forest over large portions of its range. Call is a long, hollow hoot. Most other flufftails are not found in forest. Separated from White-spotted Flufftail by the buff spots of the male and the plainer appearance of the female.
Dugand's Antwren
Herpsilochmus dugandi
Handsome antwren found in the canopy of lowland rainforest in eastern Ecuador, northeastern Peru, and southern Colombia. Male is gray with black crown, eye-stripe, and upper tail; wings are black with white bars and tail has white edges. Female is similar but with a brown crown and buffy or yellowish wash on breast. Compared to Ancient Antwren, male Dugand’s lacks yellow on underparts, and female has a brown crown. Usually seen with mixed-species flocks very high in the trees. More easily seen from a canopy tower or walkway if one is available. Song is a fast, accelerating series of dry “chup” notes.
Cream-breasted Fruit-Dove
Ptilinopus merrilli
A fairly large dove of lowland and low-elevation montane forest. Has green upperparts to the back of the neck, a gray head and chest, a creamy belly, and white under the base of the tail, scalloped green. Note the purple spot across the flight feathers. The race from northern Luzon has a dark red crown. Similar to Black-chinned Fruit-Dove, but Cream-breasted has a narrow chest band and a cream rather than green belly. Song is a drawn-out, deep quavering “brrrrrrr.”
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