Key West Quail-Dove

Overview

The Key West quail-dove (Geotrygon chrysia) is a species of bird in the pigeon and dove family, probably most closely related to the bridled quail-dove. Despite its name, it no longer breeds in the Florida Keys and southern mainland Florida, though it remains a vagrant to these areas.

Identification

• Approximately 27–31 cm in length with a dark rust-colored back and wings.
• Displays amethyst or bronze green iridescence on the crown, nape and back of the neck, with purplish red iridescence on the mantle, back, rump and inner wing coverts.
• Features a bold white facial stripe.
• Produces a single-pitched moan similar to that of the white-tipped dove.

Habitat

Breeds in the Bahamas and, except for Jamaica, throughout the Greater Antilles, having previously been found in the Cayman Islands. It inhabits tropical and subtropical dry forests, shrublands, and lowland moist forests.

Diet

Forages on the ground, mainly consuming seeds, berries and fallen fruit, with a particular fondness for poisonwood fruit. It also includes snails in its diet.

Did you know?

It was commonly breeding in the Florida Keys in the early 1800s but disappeared from the area in the mid-19th century. It lays two buff-coloured eggs on a flimsy platform built on a shrub, or occasionally on the ground.