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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
  • T. c. sharpei
  • T. c. calvus
  • T. c. poensis
  • T. c. virescens:
  • Principe Island (Gulf of Guinea)
  • T. c. uellensis
  • T. c. brevicera
  • T. c. salvadorii
  • T. c. gibberifrons:
  • T. c. wakefieldii
  • T. c. schalowi
  • T. c. ansorgei
  • T. c. vylderi
  • T. c. delalandii
  • T. c. granti

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

  1. 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/
  2. Avibase
  3. Africa Bird Guide
  4. BF Member observations
  5. 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).

Recommended Citation

External Links


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