Sapphire Quail-Dove Geotrygon saphirina Scientific name definitions

The Sapphire Quail-Dove ranges, apparently somewhat locally, from southeastern Colombia south, even more discontinuously, to southeastern Peru; it occurs in lowland and submontane forests, as well as in older second growth. This quail-dove is a particularly attractive member of the genus Geotrygon, being pale gray below, with a mix of green, gold, and purplish iridescences over the head and upperparts, with a white forehead and broad cheek-stripe, outlined below in black. Most aspects of its ecology and behavior are still poorly known, although the nest recently was described.

22–26 cm; 139·4–199 g. White on forehead , throat and below eye; conspicuous purple-black malar stripe extending below and beyond ear-coverts; crown dark bluish grey becoming bronzy green on nape; bronzy hindneck, glossed with green, gold and purplish-pink iridescence; deep slightly iridescent purple-brown mantle, back and inner wing-coverts, darkest on wing; blackish-brown primaries with conspicuous small white spot on inner secondaries; rump and uppertail-coverts iridescent greenish or purplish blue; central tail feathers slaty black, outer ones blackish with blue-grey tips; breast pale grey becoming white on belly; buff flanks and undertail-coverts; iris pale yellow to dark brown, bill grey and black, and feet and legs reddish. Female tends to be less brilliantly coloured. Juvenile dark reddish brown throughout with darker subterminal bands and rusty fringes to most feathers; white areas less bright, dusky and rufous bars on sides of breast; less intense facial markings. Race rothschildi very similar to nominate; irides coffee-coloured to black.

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.

Until recently treated as conspecific with G. purpurata; the two were often separated in monospecific genus Osculatia. Differs from G. purpurata in having a white spot on median tertial (2);  grey-green vs indigo mid-crown to nape, with indistinct white/grey border vs sharp white/indigo forecrown/mid-crown border  (3); line of hindcrown also  grey-green crown shading into pinkish-bronzy nape and mantle vs sharply divided from nape(3);  back purplish-tinged  vs royal blue-tinged(ns[1]); “different” voice (1 Gibbs, D., E. Barnes, and J. Cox (2001). Pigeons and Doves: A Guide to the Pigeons and Doves of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, UK. Close ), with main song-type having consistently longer single notes (2 Donegan, T.M. and Salaman, P. (2012). Vocal differentiation and conservation of Indigo-crowned Quail-Dove Geotrygon purpurata. Conservación Colombiana. 17: 15–19. Close ) (at least 1); iris colour also stated to be different (2 Donegan, T.M. and Salaman, P. (2012). Vocal differentiation and conservation of Indigo-crowned Quail-Dove Geotrygon purpurata. Conservación Colombiana. 17: 15–19. Close ).Two subspecies recognized.

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 undergrowth and ground level of lowland and montane evergreen, forests , often in hilly terrain, including terra firme, as well as advanced second growth, perhaps favouring areas close to streams and in shallow ravines. Recorded to 1000 m in E Peru with a single record at 1148 m, but to 1350 m in E Ecuador (though mainly below 1100 m).

Presumably sedentary.

No good data available. Probably takes seeds and small invertebrates. Apparently strictly terrestrial; typically occurs singly, or in well-separated pairs.

Song  is a two-note monotonous “hu..huuuuu” or “ca..whooooo”, the first note much shorter than the second and often not clearly audible. Length of two-note song c. 1·2–1·4 seconds. Frequency typically around 1100 Hz, thus sounding rather high-pitched. Repeated every c. 4 seconds. Calls from low perch in dense undergrowth or from the ground, at all times of day. For differences between this species and G. purpurata see the latter; song of saphirina has been likened to those of Ochre-striped (Grallaria dignissima) and Elusive Antpittas (G. eludens), both of which display limited overlap with the present species.

Little known. Three nests found in E Ecuador in Mar–Apr 2005 were stick and rootlet platforms, 1·7–3 m up in shrubbery, mean measurements 14·3 cm ± 1·8 cm outer diameter 5·8 cm ± 3·9 cm outer height, 8·5 cm ± 2·1 cm inner diameter and 2·3 cm ± 0·4 cm inner depth, one in a Psychotria (Rubiaceae) tree and another comprised a total of just 31 sticks, and all of them were adjacent to small streams. One contained a single egg, another two eggs and the third a single nestling. Eggs were entirely buffish, but one in Peru was white; one egg measured 31·7 mm × 22·6 mm, with mass 8·85 g. The nest with a nestling was free of droppings, suggesting that this species consumes its nestlings’ faeces, as does G. montana (4 Greeney, H.F. and Gelis, R.A. (2009). The nest and eggs of Sapphire Quail-dove Geotrygon saphirina. Cotinga. 31: 65–66. Close ). Females collected in Aug in same general region were either in breeding condition#R or tending nest with young#R. Another nest found in Ecuador in November was also constructed from small twigs, 3m above the ground and near a stream; the single egg was being incubated (5 Cadena-Ortiz, H. and Buitrón-Jurado, G. (2015). Notes on breeding birds from the Villano River, Pastaza, Ecuador Cotinga. 37: 36–40. Close ). In SE Peru, vocal late Sept–Nov, suggesting that this might be the local breeding season. In Colombia a juvenile was collected in Oct#R.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Nevertheless, generally regarded as uncommon and very locally distributed (6 Stotz, D. F., J. W. Fitzpatrick, T. A. Parker, and D. K. Moskovits (1996). Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, USA, and London, UK. Close ), and in Brazil is known solely from around Benjamin Constant (Apr 1966) and São Paulo de Olivença (Mar 1923), both in Amazonas state (7 Kirwan, G.M., Pacheco, J.F. and Lees, A.C. (2015). First documented record of the Sapphire Quail-Dove Geotrygon saphirina Bonaparte, 1855, in Brazil, an overlooked specimen from the Klages expedition to Amazonia. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia. 23(3): 354–356. Close ). Exact limits of distribution of this distinctive species poorly known; survey work required to better establish range, and estimate population size and trends. Extensive research required. Primary threat to this species is accelerating deforestation in the Amazon basin as land is cleared for cattle ranching and soy production, facilitated by expansion of the road network; it is also susceptible to hunting.  Known from a number of conservation units, including Mushullacta Community Reserve, Jatun Sacha Biological Station, Yasuni National Park and Cuyabeno Faunal Reserve (NE Ecuador), and Manu National Park (SE Peru).