The lemon dove or cinnamon dove (''Columba larvata'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of bird in the pigeon

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Columbidae Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

found in montane forests of sub-Saharan Africa. The São Tomé lemon dove is usually treated as a subspecies. The lemon dove has a generally brownish-grey plumage with a cinnamon brown breast. Males have a greenish-glossed neck and white markings on the head, and females and juveniles are rather more brown and have grey facial markings. This dove is a common species, and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...

has rated its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

Taxonomy

It differs from the other

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n pigeons of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

'' Columba'' by its terrestrial habits and the white face and forehead of adult males; it is therefore sometimes separated in the genus ''Aplopelia''. Some treat the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in ...

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

s (São Tomé lemon-dove) as a separate species ''C. simplex'' (or ''A. simplex''), others as subspecies of ''C. larvata''. In the latter case, the species as a whole may be called simply lemon-dove, and if ''Aplopelia'' is considered a valid genus it would then be

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

.Sinclair ''et al.'' (2002)

Description

The lemon dove is fairly small, measuring in length and weighing .''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), . Adult males have a plumage that is dark brown above, glossed green on sides of neck, and cinnamon brown below. As noted, they have conspicuous white face markings. The feet,

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

and orbital skin are red, the

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

is black. Females and young males are generally similar, with a lighter brown plumage and dull grey facial markings. The males of western African subspecies have a dark grey plumage.

Distribution

The lemon dove has a very wide range and is distributed in

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial ...

s in sub-Saharan

, ranging for example from some ASL in eastern Africa. The diet consists mainly of various small fruits, seeds, molluscs and insects. The female usually lays two creamy white eggs.

Status

Widespread throughout its range, the population trend of the lemon dove is stable and the bird is evaluated as a species of

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

of Threatened Species. Nonetheless, it seems to be declining in certain parts of its range; in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

for example it is not rare above ASL in the Nguu North Forest Reserve, but not at all common in some lower-lying

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

. It is nearly absent from the southeast of that country.Seddon ''et al.'' (1999), Jensen ''et al.'' (2005), BLI (2008)

References

Sources

* Jensen, Flemming P.; Tøttrup, Anders P. & Christensen, Kim D. (2005): The avifauna of coastal forests in southeast Tanzania. ''Scopus'' 25: 1-22
PDF fulltext
* Seddon, N.; Ekstrom, J.M.M.; Capper, D.R.; Isherwood, I.S.; Muna, R.; Pople, R.G.; Tarimo & Timothy, E.J. (1999): The importance of the Nilo and Nguu North Forest Reserves for the conservation of montane forest birds in Tanzania. ''Biological Conservation'' 87(1): 59–72. PDF fulltext
* Sinclair, Ian; Hockey, Phil & Tarboton, Warwick R. (2002): ''SASOL Birds of Southern Africa''. Struik, Cape Town

External links

* (Cinnamon dove = ) lemon dove
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
{{Taxonbar, from=Q511845

lemon dove The lemon dove or cinnamon dove (''Columba larvata'') is a species of bird in the pigeon family (biology), family Columbidae found in montane forests of sub-Saharan Africa. The São Tomé lemon dove is usually treated as a subspecies. The lemon d ...

Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa Birds of the Gulf of Guinea

Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN