Asian Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica Scientific name definitions

23–27 cm; 89–171 g (1 Gaither, J. C. (1994). Weights of Bornean understorey birds. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 114(2):89–90. Close , 2 McGowan, P. (1998). Weights of some birds from the Malaysian forest floor. Forktail. 14: 78. Close , 3 Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ), 100–131 g (natalis). Male has forehead and stripe over and extending behind eye white; crown and nape bluish grey; neck and breast dark brownish purple, more or less tinged with blue-grey along median line of hindneck and becoming purplish grey on belly and flanks; small, poorly-defined white patch on bend of wing; mantle, scapulars, wing-coverts and inner secondaries iridescent emerald or bronzy green; primaries and outer secondaries slaty black with some chestnut on inner webs; underwing chestnut; lower back blackish, sometimes tinged coppery or green and crossed by two pale grey bands; rump and uppertail-coverts grey, feathers tipped black; central tail feathers greyish black, outer ones blue-grey with broad black or purplish subterminal bands and pale grey tips; bill orange-red or red, with purplish base; legs and feet red or pinkish. Female similar, but rufous or chestnut-brown where male is purplish; lacks white shoulder patch; white and grey on head restricted to front of forehead and stripe over eye. Juvenile  predominantly red-brown with blackish bars and much reduced iridescence on mantle and wings; adult plumage quickly acquired. Races differ as follows: robinsoni is like nominate, but in male blue-grey crown reaches onto upper mantle , and female tends to show more extensive grey cap than other races, while size (wing length) is marginally smaller; <em>maxima</em> is slightly larger than nominate, but male is otherwise basically identical to nominate indica, though female is more easily differentiated by almost completely lacking grey in crown and having forehead suffused sandy buff; augusta (often not recognized) is intermediate between maxima and nominate (see Taxonomy comments), being smaller and darker than first-named race, with dark bluish upper mantle, bluer mantle, faint grey bands on back (especially in female), darker underparts with bluish cast and almost black undertal-coverts, while females of both augusta and maxima have weak silvery brows; natalis male has more orangey-buff underparts, especially on belly, darker blue-grey cap, and less extensive, grey shoulder-patch, while female has sandy-buff forehead and supercilium, rufous shoulder, rich rufous rump to uppertail (except outermost rectrices) and neck and underparts are sandier; and minima is generally darker than nominate indica and a comparatively small race.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Hitherto considered conspecific with C. longirostris, but here treated as a separate species. C. longirostris differs in having forehead and supercilium white vs buffy-maroon (3); crown to hindneck sharply defined pale grey vs poorly defined slaty grey (2); white shoulder patches clearly much smaller (2); and rusty-rufous in primaries much less pronounced (ns[2]). Also closely related to C. stephani, with which largely allopatric; distributions suggest that it may be expanding its range at the expense of latter, for example in Moluccas and W Papuan Is. Nicobar race augusta is intermediate between nominate and maxima, and perhaps better merged in one or other of these. Other races described include salimalii (SW India), yamashinai (S Ryukyus), formosana (Taiwan), sanghirensis (Sangihe) and nana (Peleng, in Banggai Is), but all seem to be based on very minor differences from nominate. Six subspecies currently recognized.

• Asian x Pacific Emerald Dove (hybrid) Chalcophaps indica x longirostris

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Occupies a wide variety of forest types and adjacent habitats, including primary rainforest, wet sclerophyll forest, mangroves (4 Indrawan, M., S. Somadikarta, J. Supriatna, M. D. Bruce, Sunarto, and G. Djanubudiman (2006). The birds of the Togian Islands, central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Forktail 22:7–22. Close , 5 Trainor, C.R. (2003). The birds of Lembata (Lomblen), Lesser Sundas. Kukila 12:39–53. Close ), gallery forest, clearings, bamboo and teak forests (6 Jayapal, R., Q. Qureshi, and R. Chellam (2005). Some significant records of birds from the central Indian highlands of Madhya Pradesh. Indian Birds 1(5):98–102. Close ), and agricultural country, including orchards and plantations near forests. Appears to be primarily a bird of forest edge and occurs mainly in lowlands and foothills, up to 1450 m in SE Asia and Sumatra, but higher, to c. 1600 m on Borneo (7 Mann, C. F. (2008). The Birds of Borneo: An Annotated Checklist. B.O.U. Checklist 23. British Ornithologists’ Union, and British Ornithologists’ Club, Peterborough. Close ) and c. 2200 m, in Himalayas, respectively (8 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

Apparently sedentary or locally nomadic in most parts of its range. Local movements (principally, but not exclusively nocturnal) known from several regions, with birds often killed by flying into windows, white-painted walls or lights at night (8 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ). For example, in Anaimalai Hills, Western Ghats, India, it appears at onset of pre-monsoon showers in late May and remains until Dec, being rare or absent in Jan–May, when it may migrate altitudinally to wetter regions post-breeding (9 Kannan, R. (1998). Avifauna of the Animalai Hills (Western Ghats) of southern India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 95(2): 193–214. Close ), whereas at Silent Valley, also in Western Ghats, it is virtually absent between late May and mid Nov (10 Jayson, E.A. and Matthew, D.N. (2000). Seasonal changes of tropical forest birds in the southern Western Ghats. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 97(1): 52–61. Close ). Substantial evidence of local and perhaps even longer-distance movements on Borneo, but without ringing and other methods, no precise information on length, direction or factors dictating them. Unsuccessfully introduced to Hawaii in 1920s.

Primarily seeds and fallen fruits, with some invertebrates (insects, including termites, and snails); faecal analysis in Hong Kong (n = 3) revealed that 67% of diet was fruit, rest insects (11 Corlett, R.T. (1998). Frugivory and seed dispersal by birds in Hong Kong shrubland. Forktail. 13: 23–27. Close ). Wide variety of plant families consumed, including Arecaceae, Cyperaceae, Lauraceae, Fabaceae, Phytolaccaceae, and Solanaceae. Occasionally frequents farmyards where it will feed with domestic fowl and swine. Mainly feeds on the ground below tree cover, occasionally in trees; feeds alone or in pairs, and may visit mineral seeps; walks and runs nimbly.

Most common vocalization is a repeated, low-pitched, mournful hoot, preceded by a soft hiccup, “ti-whoooo”, at a rate of typically c. 1 hoot per two seconds.

Breeds year-round in many areas, often with peak during late dry season through wet season; eggs and young recorded Feb, Apr–Sept in Peninsular Malaysia (3 Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ) and Dec–Feb on Borneo (7 Mann, C. F. (2008). The Birds of Borneo: An Annotated Checklist. B.O.U. Checklist 23. British Ornithologists’ Union, and British Ornithologists’ Club, Peterborough. Close ); Oct–Feb on Christmas I. Nest  a slight platform of twigs, placed in densely foliated tree, bush, vines, epiphytic fern or tree-fern, but also in oil-palm plantations; placed 1–11 m above ground. Lays two ivory-, cream- or buffish-coloured eggs, but species apparently rarely produces more than one young and frequently only one even hatches (3 Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ). In captivity : incubation 14–16 days (in wild female perhaps solely responsible for incubating duties) (3 Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ); young (tended by both adults) semi-altricial, nidicolous and covered with sparse yellow down at hatching; at 7–8 days, wings completely feathered, though plumes only beginning to break from sheaths, and head, neck and back bare; fledging 12–16 days. In captivity, chicks leave nest and able to fly by c. 21 days old.

Not globally threatened. The only population estimate is for race natalis on Christmas I, where c. 1000 pairs remain, and eggs and young eaten by rats, and this taxon is considered Vulnerable by the Australian authorities. Population on Nicobar Is might be Near Threatened (12 Sankaran, R. (1998). An annotated list of the endemic avifauna of the Nicobar Islands. Forktail 13:17–22. Close ). Adapts readily to secondary forest and edges, and is widespread and common (though inconspicuous) in many areas, e.g. Borneo and Sumatra, but equally appears to require true forest for breeding purposes (3 Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ). However, declines have been noted in some populations, e.g. on Java and Bali. Threats include predation by rats and feral cats; occasionally hunted for food by humans, especially on islands.