- Turtur chalcospilos
Identification
Length 17-20 cm, mass 50-77 g. A small, brown dove with a grey head and iridescent green spots on the wing. There are two blackish bands accross the lower back.
Similar Species
Similar to the Black-billed Wood-Dove, but is darker and browner and the bill is dull red (rather than black); ranges only overlap (marginally) in Ethiopia and extreme south-western Sudan, where the Black-billed Wood-Dove prefers more dense woodland.
Distribution
From Ethiopia and Somalia through eastern Africa to eastern South Africa, and through central Africa to Angola and northern Namibia.
Taxonomy
Considered monotypic by Clements[1]; Hockey et al.[2] recognise three subspecies, varying mainly in the shade of the plumage.
Habitat
Woodland and savanna.
Behaviour
Solitary or in pairs; Forages on the ground under trees, and in clearings in woodland. The diet includes seeds, invertebrates and fallen figs.
Vocalisations
The call is a mourning series of deep coos; hoo, wuhoo, hoo, wuhoo, tu, tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu, falling in pitch and speeding up towards the end.
Breeding
Monogamous and territorial. The nest is a platform built using twigs, petioles and roots; placed within 6 m of the ground in a bush, tree or creeper. One or two eggs are incubated for about 17 days by both adults and the nestling period is about 16 days.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Hockey, PAR, WRJ Dean, and PG Ryan, eds. 2005. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. 7th ed. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 978-0620340533
- Sinclair, I and P Ryan. 2003. Birds of Africa South of the Sahara. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691118154
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Emerald-spotted Wood Dove. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Emerald-spotted_Wood_Dove
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
