Long-tailed Ground Dove
Uropelia campestris
Unmistakable ground dove. Brownish above and whitish below. Note the black spotting on the wings and the yellow eye-ring and legs. In flight the tail is V-shaped, with black sides and white tips. Found in grasslands and at the woodland edge, where it feeds on the ground. The song is a series of high-pitched “wha-ooop...wha-ooop...wha-ooop...” notes.
Identification
The long-tailed ground dove is 15.7 to 17.7 cm (6.2 to 7.0 in) long. The adult male's forehead and crown are bluish gray. Its upperparts are brown with a pinkish tinge on the hindneck. The folded wing shows two iridescent purple bands and a row of large purplish black spots. The throat and breast are pinkish mauve fading to white on the belly. The long tail's central feathers are brown and the outer ones black with white tips. The eye is gray to blue surrounded by bare yellow to orange skin. The adult female's eye surround is paler than the male's; its underparts are paler pink, its hindneck and shoulders more olive-brown, and the rest of the upperparts an ashier gray. Juveniles are duller and more grayish brown overall, and the bands and spots on the wings are chestnut and buff.
Taxonomy
The long-tailed ground dove is the only member of its genus. It shares characteristics with both Columbina and Claravis doves but cannot be placed definitively in either. It is monotypic according to the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) and Clements taxonomies, but the Handbook of the Birds of the World adds subspecies U. c. figginsi to the nominate.
- Scientific name
- Uropelia campestris
- Authority
- (Spix, 1825)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Uropelia
Range and habitat
The long-tailed ground dove is found discontinuously in much of central Brazil and adjoining Bolivia. It inhabits drier (but seasonally wet) grassland, savanna, woodland edges, and scrubby parkland, usually near watercourses. In elevation it ranges from near sea level to 1,100 m (3,600 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The long-tailed ground dove forages in pairs or small groups, taking a wide variety of seeds from the ground.<p>Nothing is known about the long-tailed ground dove's breeding phenology.<p>The long-tailed ground dove's song is a "series of rather high-pitched, disyllabic 'wha-ooop...wha-ooop...wha-ooop...' notes".
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
White-spotted Munia
Mayrimunia leucosticta
A small brown bird with a heavy blue bill, rufous underparts, and white spotting across the head, back, and breast. The pale buff rump is conspicuous in flight. Found in tall grassland, bamboo, savanna, and forest edges, often in pairs or small flocks. The calls are metallic “veek” and “vik” notes. The song is a fast, high-pitched metallic jumble of notes. Similar to Streak-headed Munia but paler overall, especially on the underparts, and shows large white spots across the back. Somewhat similar to Black Mannikin, but paler, with abundant white spotting.
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Unique and beautiful rainforest tanager known only from several remote areas of the eastern Andes in northern Peru and southeastern Ecuador. No other Andean bird has an orange throat, black upperparts, and blue wings. Most often encountered in clearings with scattered trees or at the edge of the forest. Pairs or small groups roam widely through the forest canopy, giving loud, far-carrying squeaky calls.
Ocellated Quail
Cyrtonyx ocellatus
Small, elusive quail of brushy pine-oak woods in drier highlands; favors areas with oak scrub and bunchgrass. Usually in small groups; rarely flushes until almost stepped on. It can be seen beside quiet roads and trails, mainly early and late in day, but it usually remains well hidden in cover. Male has striking harlequin face pattern and rusty underparts with complex patterning. Female has a bushy crest and a trace of the male’s facial pattern. Similar species: female Crested Bobwhite.
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