Pigeons and Doves - Bird of the Month February 2014

[Amoli]

[okie]

And a speckled pigeon sitting at my bird feeder .

[Duke]

Speckled Pigeon at Lammergeir Hide Giants Castle

[harrys]

[nan]

Speckled Pigeon

Table Mountain 3.10.2009


West Coast 6.3.2011

[Tina]

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

[Flutterby]

The African Olive Pigeon or Rameron Pigeon (Geelbekborsduif) (Columba arquatrix) is a resident breeding bird in much of eastern and southern Africa. They prefer cool, moist forest canopies above 1,400 m altitude, although they can occur as low as 700 m. They use mountain fynbos, second growth and clearings, and feed on agricultural land.

The adult male African Olive Pigeon is a large pigeon at 37 to 42 cm (15 to 17 in) in length and a weight of 300 to 450g. Its back and wings are maroon, and the shoulders are heavily speckled with white spots. The underparts are maroon with heavy white spotting, and the head is grey with yellow patches around the eye, and a yellow bill. The neck plumage, used in display, is streaked maroon and white, the underwing and undertail are dark grey, and the feet are yellow.

Females are very similar but somewhat duller. Juvenile birds have the maroon and grey replaced with dark brown, the bare parts are a dull greenish-yellow, and the wing feathers have pale fringes. In flight, this pigeon looks very dark. Its flight is quick, with the regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings which are characteristic of pigeons in general. The male has a display consisting of deep bows, and a display flight which consists of a climb, wingclapping, and slow glide down.

The call is a loud coo coo.

They build a large stick nest up to 15 m high in a tree and lay one (rarely two) white eggs. The eggs are incubated for 17–20 days to hatching, and the chicks leave the nest in another 20 days.

The African Olive Pigeon feeds on fruit and berries, mainly picked in the canopy, but it will also descend for fallen fruit and take some insects and caterpillars. In the south of its range, it favours the fruit of a highly invasive plant, the bugweed, Solanum mauritianum. Birds will fly considerable distances from their roosts to feeding areas, and young or non-breeding birds will form flocks.

[Amoli]

African Olive Pigeon

[Flutterby]

The African Green Pigeon (Treron calvus) is a species of bird in the Columbidae family, and one of 5 Green Pigeon species in the Afrotropics.

Their upperparts are greyish green to yellowish green, their thighs are yellow with mauve patches on the top of the wing. The green plumage provides a great camouflage in the tops of trees. Their bills are red at the base white at the tip. Their feet are also red.

Diet
They eat mainly fruit such as figs.

Breeding
May to February is the most common time. They build a frail platform of coarse twigs and leafs on a sloping or a horizontal fork of a leafy tree. 1 to 2 eggs are laid. Chicks hatch after about 13 days. The male is in charged to look for small branches and to carry them to the female on the nest, the female accommodates them. The female chooses the place to nest and remains there waiting for the male to supply to her materials to build the nest. They are vey good parents. They incubate all the time, they never leave the nest alone.

Behaviour
They are usually gregarious, all in small groups. They forage in trees, flapping to keep there balance, and often hanging upside down. There green plumage makes effective camouflage. Their flight is fast and direct.

Habitat
Woodland, especially riverine and fig forest.

Distribution
Green pigeons are found in Zimbabwe, northern and eastern Botswana, northern Namibia, Mozambique, the Northern Province, Mpumalanga and east coast of South Africa.

[okie]

Green pigeon at Babalala picnic site .