Alternative name: Red-tailed Blue Pigeon
- Alectroenas madagascariensis
Identification
25-28 cm.
- Silvery blue grey throat and neck
- Dark blue upperparts
- Silvery grey upper mantle
- Dark blue underparts with silbery blue-grey breast
- Red undertail-coverts and tail
- Green-yellow eye surrounded by red ring and large area of bare red skin
- Greenish tip with yellow tip
Sexes similar, juveniles have less bare skin around eye.
Distribution
Endemic to eastern Madagascar.
Fairly common in protected areas.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.
Habitat
Found in undisturbed rain forest and also degraded forest around towns and villages. Often in the canopy or on tree tops.
Occurs from sea-level up to 2000 m.
Behaviour
Diet
Not well known. Seen feeding on fruit.
Forages in pairs or in groups of 3 to 12 birds.
Breeding
Breeding recorded from October to December. The nest is a platform made of twigs. It's placed on a horizontal tree fork, 6 to 20 m above the ground. Lays 1 egg.
Movements
Some seasonal movements reported but not yet well understood.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. 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. (2025) Madagascar Blue Pigeon. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 4 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Madagascar_Blue_Pigeon
