The Sri Lanka wood pigeon (''Columba torringtoniae'') is a pigeon which is an endemic resident breeding bird in the mountains of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. This species nests in damp evergreen woodlands in the central highlands, building a stick nest in a tree and laying a single white egg. Its flight is quick, with the regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings which are characteristic of pigeons in general. Most of its food is vegetable. Normally silent it utters an owl-like ''hoo'' call in the breeding season. The Sri Lanka wood pigeon is 36 cm in length. Its upperparts and tail are dark grey, and the head and underparts are lilac, becoming paler on the belly. There is a black-and-white chessboard pattern on the nape. This pigeon can be quite easily seen in the woods of the Horton Plains National Park. Flickr - Rainbirder - Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon (Columba torringtoni) (1)

Flickr - Rainbirder - Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon (Columba torringtoni) (1)

In culture

, this bird is known as ''Manila Goya'' - මානිලගොයා in

Sinhala Language Sinhala ( ; , ''siṁhala'', ), sometimes called Sinhalese (), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka, who make up the largest ethnic group on the island, numbering about 16 milli ...

. This wood-pigeon in a 25c

n postal stamp.

References

* ''Birds of India'' by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp,

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q730301

Sri Lanka wood pigeon The Sri Lanka wood pigeon (''Columba torringtoniae'') is a pigeon which is an endemic resident breeding bird in the mountains of Sri Lanka. This species nests in damp evergreen woodlands in the central highlands, building a stick nest in a tree ...

Birds of Sri Lanka Endemic birds of Sri Lanka

Taxa named by Edward Frederick Kelaart