Alternative names: Forest Dove (C. l. simplex), Cinnamon Dove
- Columba larvata
Identification
25-29 cm (9¾-11½ in)
Dark brown plumage, black bill, glossed green on sides of neck and cinnamon brown below.
The feet, iris and orbital skin are red.
The female has a dull cinnamon brown plumage.
Similar Species
The male is distinct from other African pigeons such as Ring-necked Dove and African Mourning Dove for its terrestrial habit and for having a white face and forecrown.
Distribution
Africa:
Western Africa: Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo
Eastern Africa: Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, eSwatini,
African Islands: Gulf of Guinea Islands: Bioko (Fernando Po), Sao Tome, Principe
In southern Africa it is confined to the eastern and southern coastal areas.
Taxonomy
Sometimes placed in the genus Aplopelia.
Subspecies
- 'C. l. inornata:
- 'C. l. principalis:
- Príncipe (Gulf of Guinea)
- 'C. l. bronzina:
- 'C. l. larvata:
- Southern Sudan to Uganda, western Tanzania, Malawi and South Africa
Habitat
Understory of lowland and afromontane evergreen forests from sea level to above 2 000m as well as in the alien pine and oak plantations of the Western Cape, South Africa.
Behaviour
It forages, solitarily or in pairs, in leaf litter on the forest floor. Its restless scratching and scrabbling in forest litter may alert the astute observer to its presence. It has been recorded as feeding on seeds, berries, insects, molluscs, bulbs and tubers. They are particularly fond of bamboo seeds.
Breeding
A solitary nester, they construct a flat platform nest out of twigs and rootlets or pine needles. The female usually lays 2 creamy white eggs.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved June 2016)
- Maclean (1993) Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa 6th edition. Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund: Cape Town.
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2023) Lemon Dove. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 November 2023 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Lemon_Dove
