Bird
Bird
Pale-vented Pigeon
Patagioenas cayennensis
The Pale-vented Pigeon is a large, richly coloured pigeon found in Tobago, a canopy-dwelling bird of forest and forest edge distinguished by a warm vinous-brown breast and a pale, contrasting belly and undertail.
The Pale-vented Pigeon is a large, richly coloured pigeon found in Tobago, a canopy-dwelling bird of forest and forest edge distinguished by a warm vinous-brown breast and a pale, contrasting belly and undertail.
Identification
A large pigeon around 28 to 30 cm long, with a rich, warm vinous-brown to purplish head, neck, and breast, a darker greyish-brown back and wings, and a distinctly pale, whitish to buff belly and undertail contrasting with the darker upperparts, giving the species its common name. The bill is dark, and the legs are reddish.
Ecology
The Pale-vented Pigeon feeds on fruit and seeds gathered in the forest canopy and at forest edge, often perching prominently in emergent or fruiting trees. It is generally found singly or in pairs, occasionally in small loose groups at abundant fruit sources, and its deep, resonant cooing call is a familiar sound of forest edge and cultivated land bordering forest.
Status in T&T
Found in forest and forest edge on Tobago. It is not threatened. It is protected under the Conservation of Wildlife Act; some larger native pigeons are legally hunted in T&T during a regulated open season under permit, so correct species identification is required of hunters.
Threats
- Forest clearance reducing fruiting-tree availability
- Hunting pressure, including possible misidentification with legally hunted pigeon species
