African Green Pigeon - BirdForum Opus

Photo by juninho
Location: Ulu, Kenya, July 2005

Treron calva

Identification

• Grey-green to yellowish-green upperparts
• Yellow thighs
• Mauve patches on the top of the wing
• White-tipped red bill
• Red feet

Distribution

Widespread in sub-Saharan Africa
Western Africa: Mauritania, Senegambia, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe
South Africa: KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland
African Islands: Gulf of Guinea Islands, Bioko (Fernando Po), Sao Tome, Principe

Taxonomy

Treron calvus has 17 subspecies:^[1]

• T. c. nudirostris

• Senegal to Gambia and Guinea-Bissau

Photo by Reini
Photo taken: Lamin fields, The Gambia, November 2005

• T. c. sharpei

• Sierra Leone to southern Nigeria and northern Cameroon

• T. c. calvus

• Eastern Nigeria to north-eastern DRC, central Angola and Príncipe.

• T. c. poensis

• Bioko

• T. c. uellensis

• Northern Zaire to southern Sudan and Uganda

• T. c. brevicerus

• South-western Ethiopia to northern Tanzania east of the Rift Valley

• T. c. salvadorii

• Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi to eastern DRC

• T. c. granviki

• Western Kenya and north-western Tanzania

• T. c. wakefieldii

• Coastal Kenya and north-western Tanzania

• T. c. granti

• Lowlands of eastern Tanzania and Zanzibar

• T. c. orientalis

• Southern Tanzania and northern Mozambique

• T. c. schalowi

• Southern DRC and Zambia to Victoria Falls

• T. c. chobiensis

• South-western Zimbabwe and northern Botswana

• T. c. ansorgei

• Western Angola

• T. c. vylderi

• North-western Namibia

• T. c. damarensis

• North-eastern Namibia and north-western Botswana

• T. c. delalandii

• Coastal Kenya to south-eastern South Africa

Habitat

Forests, bushveld, savanna; always associated with fruiting trees, especially figs.

Behaviour

Arboreal.

Diet

The diet includes fruit, particularly figs.

Breeding

The nest is a frail platform of coarse twigs and leaves. 1-2 eggs are laid and incubated for 13 days.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. Avibase
3. Africa Bird Guide

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) African Green Pigeon. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/African_Green_Pigeon

External Links

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