The pale-vented pigeon (''Patagioenas cayennensis'') is a large
pigeon
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 ...
(
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
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 the
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
. Formerly often placed in ''
Columba
Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...
'', it actually belongs to a
clade
A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...
of the older
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''
Patagioenas
''Patagioenas'' is a genus of New World pigeons whose distinctness from the genus ''Columba'' was long disputed but ultimately confirmed. It is basal to the ''Columba''-''Streptopelia'' radiation. Their ancestors diverged from that lineage proba ...
''. With its relatives it represents an
evolutionary radiation
An evolutionary radiation is an increase in taxonomic diversity that is caused by elevated rates of speciation, that may or may not be associated with an increase in morphological disparity. Radiations may affect one clade or many, and be rapid ...
extending through most of the warm-
temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
to tropical Americas. Grey-hued birds, even their males generally lack iridescent display plumage, although the present species has some coppery gloss on the nape.
[Johnson, Kevin P.; de Kort, Selvino; Dinwoodey, Karen, Mateman, A. C.; ten Cate, Carel; Lessells, C. M. & Clayton, Dale H. (2001): A molecular phylogeny of the dove genera ''Streptopelia'' and ''Columba''. '']Auk
An auk or alcid is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. The alcid family includes the murres, guillemots, auklets, puffins, and murrelets. The word "auk" is derived from Icelandic ''álka'', from Old Norse ''alka'' (a ...
'' 118(4): 874-887. DOI:10.1642/0004-8038(2001)118 874:AMPOTD.0.CO;
PDF fulltext
It is a resident breeder from southern
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
south to
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
and northern
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and on
Tobago
Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...
and
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
, although it is very localised on the latter island. Vagrants are occasionally seen in adjacent regions; for example, the species is noted to stray into
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
from Argentina and occasionally from
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, but it has never been noted to breed or even maintain a permanent presence in the former country.
[Azpiroz, Adrián B. & Menéndez, José L. (2008): Three new species and novel distributional data for birds in Uruguay. '' Bull. B.O.C.'' 128(1): 38-56.]
Description
The pale-vented pigeon is 30–32 cm long and weighs normally 230–250 g. Adult males have a mainly dull purple head, breast and upperpart plumage, with copper glossing on the nape and a whitish throat. The lower back and tail are dark grey and the lower underparts are pale grey. The bill is black and the legs, iris and eyering are red. The female is similar, but duller than the male, and immatures are greyish-brown, very dull, and mainly greyish brown.
The southern
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
''P. c. andersoni'' has white lower underparts, rather than the pale grey of nominate ''P. c. cayennensis''.
The call is a row of soft ''kuk kuk croo-ooo''s; the initial short ''kuk'' is characteristic for the "''cayennensis'' group" of ''Patagioenas''. Altogether, this species' song is intermediate between that of its close relatives the
plain
In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...
(''P. inornata'') and
red-billed pigeon
The red-billed pigeon (''Patagioenas flavirostris'') is a relatively large, robust species of pigeon. It's breeding range extends from southern Texas, United States, to Costa Rica. It's primarily found throughout coastal and lowland areas of Mex ...
s (''P. flavirostris'').
[Mahler, Bettina & Tubaro, Pablo L. (2001): Relationship between song characters and morphology in New World pigeons. '' Biol. J. Linn. Soc.'' 74(4): 533–539. (HTML abstract)]
It may in the field resemble a scaled pigeon
The scaled pigeon (''Patagioenas speciosa'') is a large New World tropical dove. It is a resident breeder from southern Mexico south to western Ecuador, southern Brazil, northern Argentina, and Trinidad.
The scaled pigeon is fairly common in sem ...
(''P. speciosa''), which has a similar display flight. These two large species are also the only pigeons in their range which are often seen flying in the open away from forests. But of course ''P. cayennensis'' lacks the scaly appearance, and the calls[ and appearance from close by indicate that the two are not particularly close relatives among their congeners.
]
Ecology
The pale-vented pigeon is common at forest edges, riverbanks, and other partially open areas with some trees. It feeds mainly on small fruits, berries and seed. This is a fairly solitary bird, but may form small flocks at drinking areas. Its flight is high, fast and direct, with the regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings which are characteristic of pigeons in general.
It also has a breeding display with a semi-circular glide down to its original perch. It builds a small twig nest
A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materia ...
in a small tree, and normally lays one white egg
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...
.
Widespread and common, it is classified a species 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 ...
by 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 ...
.
References
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1263074
pale-vented pigeon
The pale-vented pigeon (''Patagioenas cayennensis'') is a large pigeon (family Columbidae) found in the tropical Americas. Formerly often placed in '' Columba'', it actually belongs to a clade of the older New World genus ''Patagioenas''. With i ...
Birds of Central America
Birds of South America
pale-vented pigeon
The pale-vented pigeon (''Patagioenas cayennensis'') is a large pigeon (family Columbidae) found in the tropical Americas. Formerly often placed in '' Columba'', it actually belongs to a clade of the older New World genus ''Patagioenas''. With i ...