Yellow-legged Pigeon
Columba pallidiceps
Body is mostly iridescent green below and dark blue above and on the wings, with diagnostic bright yellow legs and a bright silver head with pinkish yellow-tipped bill. Most often seen in flight in small flocks over forest canopy at dusk and dawn, where flocking behavior and combination of silver head and bright yellow legs are diagnostic. Seems to prefer primary and well developed secondary forest between sea level and 1300 meters of elevation, though more frequently seen in forest above 400 meters. Metallic Pigeon is superficially similar but has a dark cap and pink legs, whereas Yellow-legged Pigeon shows an entirely silver head and distinctly yellow legs. Metallic Pigeon also does not perform flock flights at dawn and dusk. Although mostly quiet, Yellow-legged sometimes utters a typical pigeon-like low-pitched “hooOO hooOO.”
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Columba pallidiceps
- Authority
- (Ramsay, EP, 1878)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Columba
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
White-eared Puffbird
Nystalus chacuru
A familiar species of relatively dry savanna, scrub, and forest edges announcing its presence with a loud whistled song. Notable for its strong and thick orange bill with a dark tip, and the large white cheek patch. Typically found in pairs, perching on exposed branches.
Bicolored Conebill
Conirostrum bicolor
Small bluish tanager with a thin pointed bill. Both sexes are similar: blue-gray above and paler buff below with pinkish legs. Similar to Pearly-breasted Conebill, which has slightly paler upperparts and lacks buff tones below. Found on the coast in mangroves and in Amazonia in flooded forest along some major rivers.
White-shouldered Ibis
Pseudibis davisoni
Dark, burly medium-sized ibis. Restricted pale patches on the nape and shoulder distinguish this from all-dark ibises. Habitat preferences differ somewhat in two parts of disjunct range; Bornean birds favor mature riparian forests, while Indochinese birds are generally found in wet or flooded openings in dry forest and wooded plains. Forages singly, in pairs, or in small groups. Often disperses with the arrival of seasonal rains. Gives loud, resonating honks and croaking roars. Declining across range; status of Bornean population especially tenuous.
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