Pallid Dove

Overview

The pallid dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae found in western South America. It inhabits the Chocó bioregion, ranging from the Chocó Department of west-central Colombia through Ecuador into far northwestern Peru's Department of Tumbes.

Identification

• Males have a white forehead, face, and throat, a grey crown, and a purplish grey nape and hindneck.
• Upperparts are chestnut-brown with chestnut-red markings, and the outer tail feathers are dark chestnut with white tips.
• Legs and feet are pinkish red to brownish red, while the bill is black.
• Song is a single mournful monotonous note 'wooOOOoo' which fades in and out.

Habitat

It occupies tropical lowlands in primary and secondary tropical evergreen forest as well as dryer semi-deciduous woodland. The species ranges in elevation from sea level up to 800 m.

Diet

Very little is known about its foraging habits or diet, but it has been recorded feeding on the ground and eating bananas at a feeder.

Did you know?

The pallid dove was at one time thought to be a single species alongside the grey-fronted, grey-headed, Azuero, and Grenada doves, and has also been treated as a subspecies of the grey-fronted dove.