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PIGEONS


THICKBILLED GREEN PIGEON
SIZE; Pigeon; length 25 cm (10 in).
FIELD CHARACTERS; A small yellowish green pigeon with chestnut-maroon mantle, a prominent yellow wing-bar, and gray and olive-green tail. The thick bright red and greenish bill, and vivid green naked skin round eye are leading diagnostic pointers. Female lacks the chestnut on mantle and has whistle under tail coverts barred with dark-green (v. uniform pale cinnamon in male).
STATUS, HABITAT, ETC; Resident, subject to local movements governed by fruit ripening. Duars and foothills up to 1500 m. Affects well-wooded country and broad-leaved forest. Gregarious and exclusively frugivourous but reported to be less entirely arboreal. Frequently descends to feed on wild strawberries and berries of other ground plants.
FOOD; berries, drupes and (predominantly) wild figs.
CALL; mellow musical whistles similar to other green pigeons. Net specifically described.

ASHYHEADED GREEN PIGEON
SIZE; Pigeon, length 30 cm (12 in).
FIELD CHARACTERS; A small yellowish green pigeon with dark ashy gray crown and nape sharply demarked from adjacent greenish yellow parts. Mantle chestnut-maroon. A broad yellow band in black wings. Tail black-and-green, with a broad ashy terminal band on all but central pair of feathers, which wholly green. Below, chin and throat greenish yellow; breast conspicuously orange; under tail-coverts cinnamon. Female lacks chestnut mantle and orange breast; under tail-coverts buff, mottled with dark green. Distinguished from very similar female of Orange breasted, by green (v. gray) central tail-feathers.
STATUS, HABITAT, ETC; Resident, subject to local nomadism dependent on supply and ripening of fruit. Duars and up to 1500 m: forest and well-wooded country; sometimes large flocks of over 200. Frugivorous, and arboreal, not differing markedly in habits or calls from other green pigeons.

ORANGEBREASTED GREEN PIGEON
SIZE;Pigeon; length 30 cm(12 in).
FIELD CHARACTERS; similar to ashy headed, but lacks the gray crown and chestnut-maroon mantle. Below, yellowish green with a lilac band across upper breast followed by orange band across lower. Under tail-coverts cinnamon, the longest edged pale yellow. All tail-feathers (except central pair) slaty gray above with broad blackish sub terminal band; black below with gray tip. Central pair wholly grays. Female lacks lilac and orange breast-bands; under tail-coverts pale crimson with greenish mottling. Differentiated from very similar female Ashy headed by middle tail-feathers being slaty gray instead of green.
STATUS, HABITAT, ETC; resident, with the usual seasonal nomadism. Duars and foothills up to 1500 m; forest and well-wooded country. Gregarious, frugivorous and arboreal. General habits, food and calls as in other green pigeons.

The copyright of the article PIGEONS in Bird Varieties is owned by Mazhar Ali. Permission to republish PIGEONS in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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