Malagasy Turtle-Dove
Nesoenas picturatus
Large, chunky dove with big white corners to the tail. Although common, it is shy, most often seen when flying away along a road or a forest path. Found in all types of forest and degraded habitats with woody vegetation. Voice is a series of hollow, rising “hoooo” notes, with a brief pause between each note. Pinkish and rufous coloration is unlike that of any other dove in its range.
Taxonomy
The bird has several subspecies. The Rodrigues pigeon, an extinct but fairly enigmatic taxon from Rodrigues on the Mascarenes, was for some time suspected to be another subspecies of N. picturata, but today is generally considered a distinct species (N. rodericanus).<p>The pink pigeon (N. mayeri) is its closest living relative, and together they form a lineage apart from both the typical pigeons (Columba) and the typical turtle doves (Streptopelia), slightly closer to the latter, if anything. Consequently, either these two are both placed in Streptopelia, or – as is probably the most accurate solution at present – separated as Nesoenas. The present species was in former times sometimes placed in a monotypic genus Homopelia. While this is not outright wrong, if the Rodrigues population is also placed in Homopelia and Nesoenas is considered distinct too, it would probably be considered oversplitting by modern authors.
- Scientific name
- Nesoenas picturatus
- Authority
- (Temminck, 1813)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Nesoenas
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
Though some island populations are rare – some precariously so – as a whole N. picturata is considered a species of least concern by the IUCN.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Muisca Antpitta
Grallaria rufula
Plump bird with long legs and a short tail that ranges in the eastern Andes of Colombia, barely reaching over the border into Venezuela. Plumage is chestnut brown with an orange tinge to the breast and slightly paler belly; sometimes shows a faint mustache streak. Skulks in the understory of high elevation elfin forest and usually stays on the ground, but sometimes comes up to a low perch to sing. Common vocalization is a sweet, rising whistle followed by a lower pitched gargle, and also gives a series of flat whistles. It used to be called Rufous Antpitta.
Australian Pipit
Anthus australis
A small, pale brownish terrestrial bird with heavily streaked chest and back. Tail fairly long, showing obvious white edges in flight. Typically found walking around on the ground or perched on fence-posts. Tail moves up and down as it walks with bobbing gait. Long pinkish legs with long claw on hindtoe. In similar habitat, Horsfield's Bushlark is a more rotund, rusty-colored bird with heavier bill; Eurasian Skylark has shorter bill and short crest; and Rufous Songlark lacks white in the tail. Common in open grasslands and agricultural areas, sometimes in flocks.
Mountain Bulbul
Ixos mcclellandii
True to its name, tends to be found in the upper reaches of forested hills and mountains. Olive-green overall, with lighter orange-buff to grayish underparts (depending on subspecies), and a streaky gray throat. Crested head, similar size, and pale throat can cause it to superficially resemble Chestnut Bulbul in poor lighting, but Mountain Bulbul has a longer-billed and paler-faced appearance. Large flocks are loud and easily detected as they fly overhead, giving sharp, repetitive, echoing calls, which can be likened to “zyi-zya” or “zya-zya”. Song is a prolonged, repetitive series of call notes.
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