African Green Pigeon - BirdForum Opus

Subspecies T. c. wakefieldii
Photo © by juninho
Ulu, Kenya, 29 July 2005

Treron calva

Treron calvus

Identification

Subspecies T. c. gibberifrons
Photo © by volker sthamer
Entebbe, Uganda, 21 July 2018

25–30 cm (9¾-11¾ in)

Grey-green to yellowish-green upperparts
Yellow thighs
Mauve patches on the top of the wing
White-tipped red bill
Red feet

Variations

Both subspecies salvadorii and gibberifrons have large red ceres; however, the one belonging to gibberifrons, as well as being even larger, is also brighter.

Distribution

Widespread in sub-Saharan Africa
Western Africa: Mauritania, Senegambia, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe
South Africa: KwaZulu-Natal, eSwatini to eastern Cape Province
African Islands: Gulf of Guinea Islands, Bioko (Fernando Po), Sao Tome, Principe

Taxonomy

Subspecies T. c. nudirostris
Photo © by Reini
Lamin fields, The Gambia, November 2005

Subspecies

Treron calvus has 15 subspecies:^[1]

T. c. nudirostris

Senegal to Gambia and Guinea-Bissau

T. c. sharpei

Sierra Leone to southern Nigeria and northern Cameroon

T. c. calvus

Eastern Nigeria to north-eastern DRC, central Angola and Príncipe.

T. c. poensis

Bioko

T. c. virescens:

Principe Island (Gulf of Guinea)

T. c. uellensis

Northern Zaire to southern Sudan and Uganda

T. c. brevicera

South-western Ethiopia to northern Tanzania east of the Rift Valley

T. c. salvadorii

Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi to eastern DRC

T. c. gibberifrons:

South-eastern South Sudan south to the Lake Victoria Basin in Uganda, Rwanda, western Burundi, western Kenya, and north-western Tanzania

T. c. wakefieldii

Coastal Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania

T. c. schalowi

Eastern Angola, north-eastern Namibia, northern Botswana, and north-western Zimbabwe

T. c. ansorgei

Western Angola

T. c. vylderi

North-western Namibia

T. c. delalandii

Coastal from southern Tanzania to south-eastern South Africa

T. c. granti

Lowlands of eastern Tanzania and Zanzibar

The last two subspecies are sometimes separated as Grey-breasted Green-Pigeon

Subspecies damarensis and chobiensis are no longer recognised and have been included in T. c. schalowi. Additionally, subspecies granviki is now subsumed into T. c. gibberifrons, and orientalis into *T. c. delalandii.

Habitat

Forests, bushveld, savanna; always associated with fruiting trees, especially figs.

Behaviour

Arboreal.

Diet

The diet consists almost entirely of fruit and berries, particularly figs.

Breeding

The nest is a frail platform of coarse twigs and leaves. 1-2 eggs are laid and incubated for 13 days.

References

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/
Avibase
Africa Bird Guide
BF Member observations
Baptista, L.F., Trail, P.W., Horblit, H.M., Kirwan, G.M. & Garcia, E.F.J. (2018). African Green-pigeon (Treron calvus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/54300 on 13 December 2018).

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) African Green Pigeon. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/African_Green_Pigeon

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