Blue ground dove | |
---|---|
male | |
female | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Columbiformes |
Family: | Columbidae |
Genus: | Claravis Oberholser, 1899 |
Species: | C. pretiosa |
Binomial name | |
Claravis pretiosa (Ferrari-Pérez, 1886) | |
The blue ground dove (Claravis pretiosa) is a small New World tropical dove. It is a resident breeder from southeastern Mexico to northwestern Peru and northern Argentina, and on Trinidad in the Caribbean.
The blue ground dove is relatively common in open woodland, forest edges, clearings and roadsides, especially in more humid areas. It is found from sea level to about 1200 m altitude. It builds a flimsy dish nest of twigs 1–11 m high in a tree and lays two white eggs.
Blue ground doves are small pigeons, 20 cm long with a weight of 65-72 g. Adult males have blue-grey upperparts and paler grey underparts, becoming grey-white on the face. The flight feathers and outer tail feathers are blackish, and the wings are boldly spotted black (these spots often forming distinct bands). The iris is red or yellow, the bare eyering is green, and the legs are flesh-pink. The female has a grey-brown head neck and breast, becoming pale blue-grey on the underwings and belly. The back is ruddy brown, contrasting with the chestnut rump and tail. The spots in the wings are chestnut-brown. Young birds resemble the female, but have ruddy scaling on the back.
In most of its range, the male is unlikely to be confused with other species, but can locally be confused with the members of the genus Paraclaravis . The female also resembles the females of the members of the genus Paraclaravis, but at most localities it is more likely to be confused with the female ruddy ground dove, which is smaller and has blackish (not chestnut-brown) markings on the wings. In most regions where the blue ground dove occurs, a blue-grey and a brown bird flying through the trees together is bound to be this species.
Blue ground doves occur singly, in pairs or sometimes in small groups. They feed mainly on the ground on seeds and small insects, and take grit. The male's song, given from the treetops, is a loud boop.
The genus Claravis was introduced in 1899 by the American ornithologist Harry C. Oberholser with the blue ground dove as the type species. [2] [3] The genus name combines the Latin clarus meaning "distinct" or "clear" with avis meaning "bird". [4] Claravis formerly included the maroon-chested ground dove and purple-winged ground dove in addition to the blue ground dove, but the former two species were reassigned to the genus Paraclaravis due to the finding that the traditional Claravis was non-monophyletic. A study carried out using sequences of four mitochondrial genes and one nuclear gene, that included representatives from 15 of the 17 species in the group, recovered blue ground dove to be the clade with high support. [5]
The fieldfare is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It breeds in woodland and scrub in northern Europe and across the Palearctic. It is strongly migratory, with many northern birds moving south during the winter. It is a very rare breeder in the British Isles, but winters in large numbers in the United Kingdom, Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. It is omnivorous, eating a wide range of molluscs, insects and earthworms in the summer, and berries, grain and seeds in the winter.
The emerald dove or common emerald dove, also called Asian emerald dove and grey-capped emerald dove, is a widespread resident breeding pigeon native to the tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The dove is also known by the names of green dove and green-winged pigeon. The common emerald dove is the state bird of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Pacific emerald dove and Stephan's emerald dove were both considered conspecific.
The common ground dove is a small bird that inhabits the southern United States, parts of Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. It is considered to be the smallest dove that inhabits the United States. As its name suggests, the bird spends the majority of its time on the ground walking but still has the ability to fly.
The crested oropendola, also known as the Suriname crested oropendola or the cornbird, is a New World tropical icterid bird. It is a resident breeder in lowland South America east of the Andes, from Panama and Colombia south to northern Argentina, as well as on Trinidad and Tobago. If the genus Gymnostinax for the Montezuma oropendola and its closest relatives were considered valid, this species would probably belong in that genus.
The purple-winged ground dove is a critically endangered species of dove, native to the Atlantic forest, mainly near bamboo, in south-eastern Brazil, far eastern Paraguay, and northern-eastern Argentina. It is threatened by habitat loss and possibly the wild bird trade, and could potentially even be extinct due to its specialized requirements.
The chestnut-collared swift is a species of bird in subfamily Cypseloidinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found from Mexico and Trinidad south to Peru and Bolivia.
The stripe-breasted spinetail is a passerine bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Trinidad, Tobago, and Venezuela.
The ruddy ground dove is a small New World tropical dove. It is a resident breeder from Mexico south to Brazil, Peru and Paraguay, and northern Argentina, and on Trinidad and Tobago. Individual birds can sometimes be seen in the southwestern USA, from southern Texas to southernmost California, primarily during winter.
The tiger shrike or thick-billed shrike is a small passerine bird which belongs to the genus Lanius in the shrike family, Laniidae. It is found in wooded habitats across eastern Asia. It is a shy, often solitary bird which is less conspicuous than most other shrikes. Like other shrikes it is predatory, feeding on small animals. Its nest is built in a tree and three to six eggs are laid.
Carola's parotia, also known as Queen Carola's six-wired bird-of-paradise or Queen Carola's parotia, is a species of bird-of-paradise.
The ruddy woodcreeper is a passerine bird in subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found from southern Mexico to northern Colombia and extreme northern Venezuela.
The tambourine dove is a pigeon which is a widespread resident breeding bird in woodlands and other thick vegetation in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Its range extends from Senegal east to Ethiopia and Kenya and southwards through eastern Africa to south-eastern South Africa, but it is absent from the drier areas of south-western Africa. There is a population on the Comoros Islands.
The emerald-spotted wood dove or emerald-spotted dove is a bird of the family Columbidae, resident across eastern and southern Africa. It is a species of open drier deciduous woodland and second growth. It is absent from evergreen rainforests and semidesert areas.
The maroon-chested ground dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
The blue-eyed ground dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the Cerrado region of Brazil.
The crested cuckoo-dove is a species of bird in the pigeon family, Columbidae. First described by English zoologist John Gould in 1856, it is endemic to the Solomon Islands archipelago, where it mainly inhabits hill forests at elevations of 500–900 m (1,600–3,000 ft). It is a large and robust pigeon, with a length of 40–42 cm (16–17 in) and a distinctive pale purplish-grey crest. Adults are mainly bluish-grey, with a pale greyish-buff throat, blackish tail, and yellow-tipped reddish bill. Both sexes look alike. Juveniles lack the crest, have darker heads, and have duller wings.
The great cuckoo-dove is a species of bird in the pigeon family, Columbidae. First described by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1824, it is found on New Guinea, several surrounding islands, and Wallacea, where it mainly inhabits primary forest and the forest edge. It is a large, distinctive pigeon, with a length of 47.5–52.5 cm (18.7–20.7 in) and a weight of 208–305 g (7.3–10.8 oz). In adults, the head, neck, and breast are whitish or blue-grey, the underparts are pale bluish-grey, the upperparts are chestnut-brown, and the outer wings are black. Females differ from males in having more yellowish irises and duller orbital skin. Juveniles are mainly dull grey-brown, with dirty-white throats and bellies.
The long-tailed ground dove is a species of bird in the dove and pigeon family, Columbidae. It is found in Bolivia and Brazil.
The chestnut-capped piha is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae. It is endemic to a small portion of Colombia's central Andes in the department of Antioquia. The chestnut-capped piha resides only in a narrow band of humid premontane cloud forest. It is a dark grey passerine with a notable chestnut crown on the upper nape and pale cinnamon-colored undertail coverts. Adults are small for pihas, measuring about 20 to 25 cm long. Males have modified primary feathers with elongated and stiff barbules that enable them to create a whirring noise with their wings, which the piha likely uses for display purposes. Its call is extremely loud and can be heard over 100 m (330 ft) away. The chestnut-capped piha is mostly frugivorous, although it will eat some invertebrates. Little is known about the species' breeding ecology, although it is believed to be a lekking species.
The ruddy spinetail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela, and possibly Guyana.