Moreno's ground dove (''Metriopelia morenoi'') or the bare-eyed ground dove, is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Argentina.Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 25, 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

The Moreno's ground dove and its sister species

bare-faced ground dove The bare-faced ground dove (''Metriopelia ceciliae'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. Taxonomy and systematics The bare-faced ground dove and its sister species Moreno's groun ...

(''Metriopelia ceciliae'') were previously placed in genus ''Gymnopelia''.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 August 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved August 24, 2021 It is

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 "unispec ...

Description

Moreno's ground dove is about long. The adult's upperparts are mostly dull brown with a grayish head and shoulders. Its throat is light gray darkening to brownish gray on the breast and belly, buffy at the vent, and reddish brown on the undertail

covert Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controvers ...

s. The outer tail feathers are black with white tips. Its eye is blue surrounded by bright orange bare skin that in turn is surrounded by a thin black line. The sexes are essentially alike except that the female's eye surround is paler. The juvenile's plumage is similar to the adults' but many feathers have rufous fringes.Baptista, L. F., P. W. Trail, H. M. Horblit, P. F. D. Boesman, and E. F. J. Garcia (2020). Bare-eyed Ground Dove (''Metriopelia morenoi''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.begdov1.01 retrieved September 16, 2021

Distribution and habitat

Moreno's ground dove is found only in northwestern Argentina. It inhabits temperate and ''puna'' grassland characterized by cactus, scrub, and at lower elevation scattered trees. In elevation it ranges from at least .

Behavior

Feeding

Moreno's ground dove is known to feed on the ground, usually in small groups, but its diet has not been documented.

Breeding

Moreno's ground dove lays its two eggs in cavities in earthen banks. No other information about its breeding

phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonality, seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as environmental factor, habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples includ ...

has been published.

Vocalization

Though the bare-faced ground dove's vocalizations are not well known, it "has been recorded producing cooing calls: a series of 3–5 soft and nasal 'cuEec cuEec cuEec', as well as a faster and deeper sounding series of 'coo coo coo coo coo'."

Status

The

IUCN 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 natu ...

has assessed Moreno's ground dove as being of Least Concern. However, it has a very small range and is " ry poorly known and little studied."

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1260238

Moreno's ground dove Moreno's ground dove (''Metriopelia morenoi'') or the bare-eyed ground dove, is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to Argentina.Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Ger ...

Birds of the Southern Andean Yungas Endemic birds of Argentina

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot