Violaceous Quail-Dove
Geotrygon violacea
A plump ground-dwelling dove with a large but patchy distribution from Nicaragua to southern Brazil. Relatively plain-looking for a quail-dove, with pale underparts and a blank face. Note rufous wings and purple sheen on nape and back. Ruddy Quail-Dove is darker, richer brown, especially on the head and underparts. Shy and infrequently seen, although may be seen walking along quiet trails early and late in the day. Somewhat arboreal, often perching up in the lower to middle levels. Typically found in mature forests or adjacent second-growth.
Identification
Male violaceous quail-doves are 20 to 23.5 cm (7.9 to 9.3 in) long and females 21 to 24.5 cm (8.3 to 9.6 in). They weigh 93 to 150 g (3.3 to 5.3 oz). Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a grayish mauve crown, a grayish white face, and an iridescent purple to amethyst hindneck and shoulders. The rest of the upperparts are brown with an iridescent purple wash. The throat and breast are white with a purple tinge, the belly white, and the flanks buff. The eye is yellow-brown to orange-brown. Adult females are duller, with the purple gloss confined to the hindneck and shoulders. Their face and throat is pale gray, the neck and breast brownish with a purple tint, and the eye brown. Juveniles are similar to the female but darker, with no iridescence, and reddish to cinnamon scalloping on the upperparts. G. v. albiventer is bluer than the nominate on the head, breast, and shoulders.
Taxonomy
The violaceous quail-dove and most of what are now the other species in genus Geotrygon were previously in genus Oreopeleia. It has two subspecies, the nominate G. v. violacea and G. v. albiventer.
- Scientific name
- Geotrygon violacea
- Authority
- (Temminck, 1809)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Geotrygon
Range and habitat
The nominate subspecies of violaceous quail-dove has a discontinuous distribution. It is found in southeastern Colombia; Guyana and Suriname; northeastern Brazil; parts of Peru and Bolivia; and southeastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, and far northeastern Argentina. G. v. albiventer is found in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and through northeastern Colombia to eastern Venezuela. Some seasonal movements are suspected but not documented. It inhabits the undergrowth and understory of tropical evergreen forest, both primary and secondary, and cacao plantations as well. In elevation it ranges up to 1,650 m (5,410 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The violaceous quail-dove forages on the ground for seeds, fallen fruits, and probably small invertebrates.<p>The violaceous quail-dove's breeding season appears to span from March possibly to November, based on the timing of observations of adults in breeding condition, a nest with two eggs, and juveniles. The species builds a stick nest 1 to 2 m (3.3 to 6.6 ft) above the ground.<p>The violaceous quail-dove's advertising call is "a repeated, single, rather high-pitched cooing note".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Turdus eremita
A robust, variably plumaged dark thrush with orange and buff markings and blotchy brown streaks. Juvenile has buff fringes to its feathers. The only medium-sized songbird within its range. Singles and pairs are fairly common endemic residents on islands within the Tristan group in the south Atlantic, but rare on Tristan da Cunha itself due to introduced rats. A generalist predator and scavenger occupying heath, tussock grassland, and shorelines. Gives a short high-pitched chipping “ttslit” and a simple wheezy song.
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Chunky, mid-sized robin-like bird. Males are pale gray and orange, while females are gray-brown. Madagascar endemic that is found in coastal spiny forest and scrub in the southwest. Perches up conspicuously. Song is a variable mix of thin whistles and raspy notes. Paler than Forest Rock-Thrush, with little or no overlap in range. Female similar to female Madagascar Magpie-Robin, but smaller and grayer, without white patch in the wing.
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