- Columba albinucha
Identification
34 cm.
- Large white nuchal patch
- Purplish maroon crown and lores
- Ash grey throat and sides of neck, darker face
- White chin
- Purple mantle, slate back, rump and uppertail-coverts, faintly scaled
- Ash grey breast
- Dark purple belly with whitish spots on feathers
- Dark grey vent
- Black bill with yellow or red tip
- Red to purplish red legs
Sexes similar but female with pale grey nuchal patch, vinous-grey breast and greyish purple mantle.
Juveniles have greyer heads and dark brown upperparts.
Similar species
Reminds of African Olive Pigeon, but White-naped Pigeon is smaller and has a large white nuchal patch.
Distribution
Patchily distributed. One population in western Cameroon (only three records), others in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, western Uganda and western Rwanda.
Generally scarce in its range.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.
Habitat
Dense lowland forest and forested slopes.
Occurs in eastern DRC up to 1500 m, in Uganda from 700 to 1800 m and in Cameroon up to 1100 m.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on fruit and berries.
Forages in the canopy or at mid-level of forest, rarely on the ground.
Breeding
Birds in breeding condition collected in February in Cameroon. One described nest contained 1 white egg and was found in secondary growth in a forest clearing.
Movements
This is a resident species.
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/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved May 2016)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) White-naped Pigeon. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-naped_Pigeon
