Gray-fronted Quail-Dove Geotrygon caniceps Scientific name definitions

The Gray-fronted Quail-Dove is considered endemic to Cuba, where it is generally a rare and local resident, although the species is still comparatively numerous in parts of the west of the island, especially on the Zapata Peninsula. Formerly, this species was treated as conspecific with the White-fronted Quail-Dove (Geotrygon leucometopia) of Hispaniola, under the name Gray-headed Quail-Dove, but they are separable on plumage and vocalizations. This species feeds on fruit and seeds, foraged on the ground, usually in mid-elevation forests, but the Gray-fronted Quail-Dove occurs to sea level locally. Most frequently encountered crossing a forest trail, with patience and by standing quietly, the birds may approach closely when absorbed in their feeding; at other times, if disturbed, they are capable of quickly ‘melting’ into the forest, even in areas with a relatively open undergrowth. This is a beautiful quail-dove when seen well, being dark gray above with a conspicuous blue and purple iridescence, becoming paler below, with a bright white forehead and paler gray crown; seen briefly, however, the overall impression is simply of a mid-sized, largely dark pigeon.

Male 26–30 cm, female 27 cm; 192–210 g (1 Jiménez, A., I. García-Lau, A. González, L. Mugica, and M. Acosta (2014) Valores de masa corporal de 183 especies de aves cubanas. Revista Cubana de Ciencias Biológicas 3:22–42. Close ). Forehead greyish white merging gradually to grey on crown, occiput and nape; slight purplish iridescence on back of head; throat medium grey becoming darker on breast and cream on centre of belly; rufous vent and undertail-coverts; chestnut underwing, basal parts of inner webs and narrow fringe on outer primary webs; glossy purple mantle and sides of breast becoming bluish purple on lower back, rump and uppertail-coverts; dark brownish grey, tail grey. Female slightly duller with reduced bloom during breeding season (2 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 ); also shorter-winged and shorter-legged than males (3 Garrido, O.H., Kirwan, G.M. and Capper, D.R. (2002). Species limits within Grey-headed Quail-dove Geotrygon caniceps and implications for the conservation of a globally threatened species. Bird Conservation International. 12(2): 169–187. Close ). Juvenile has brownish-grey forehead and pale grey throat; duller and dark brown upperparts fringed buff, and chestnut-brown underparts; orbital skin dull reddish purple, and legs and feet dull red (2 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 ). 

Like most of congeners, formerly placed in genus Oreopeleia. Formerly considered conspecific with G. leucometopia but now normally split (4 Dickinson, E. C., and J. V. Remsen, Editors (2013). The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Fourth edition. Volume 1. Aves Press, Eastbourne, UK. Close ), based on present species having greyish-white vs bold white forehead (3);  mid-grey vs dull darkish grey rest of crown and head-sides (1); glossy purple of mantle showing little extension onto the breast-sides in most specimens (variable character; 1); less rufous in wings (ns[1]); song described as different (5 Raffaele, H., J. W. Wiley, O. H. Garrido, A. R. Keith, and J. Raffaele (1998). Birds of the West Indies. Christopher Helm, London. Close )— ‘a continuous, low uup-uup-uup-uup without pauses” rather than ‘a prolonged coo-o-o’(this latter confirmed by a single recording) (2); longer tail in male (6 Garrido, O.H., Kirwan, G.M. and Capper, D.R. (2002). Species limits within Grey-headed Quail-dove Geotrygon caniceps and implications for the conservation of a globally threatened species. Bird Conserv. Int. 12(2): 169–187. Close ), effect size 1.18 (1). Probably also close to G. versicolor, with which shares chestnut underwing and lack of black facial markings. Monotypic.

Cuba (local in forests, mainly in Zapata Peninsula and Sierra del Rosario).

Mainly in tropical lowland forests and old second growth (2 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 ), both on dry land with permanent small pools and in very wet forest (3 Garrido, O.H., Kirwan, G.M. and Capper, D.R. (2002). Species limits within Grey-headed Quail-dove Geotrygon caniceps and implications for the conservation of a globally threatened species. Bird Conservation International. 12(2): 169–187. Close ) bordering swamps, where has also been recorded in mid-elevation and highland forests to 1200 m on Pico Cuba. It appears to prefer wetter areas than those frequented by Starnoenas cyanocephala, but frequently occurs sympatrically with the last-named species, as well as with G. chrysia and G. montana (3 Garrido, O.H., Kirwan, G.M. and Capper, D.R. (2002). Species limits within Grey-headed Quail-dove Geotrygon caniceps and implications for the conservation of a globally threatened species. Bird Conservation International. 12(2): 169–187. Close ).

Resident. Flight is swift and direct.

No detailed studies. Feeds on seeds and small invertebrates (insects, grubs and caterpillars) (2 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 ). Forages on the ground, frequently along tracks , but may perch up to 10 m above ground; usually singly or in pairs.

Song comprises long series of short, low-pitched “haoo” or “cooo” notes, given either very rapidly in the former instance or more slowly (every c. 0·5 seconds) and for longer in case of second call (2 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 ); these different songs have been termed “fast” and “slow” songs (3 Garrido, O.H., Kirwan, G.M. and Capper, D.R. (2002). Species limits within Grey-headed Quail-dove Geotrygon caniceps and implications for the conservation of a globally threatened species. Bird Conservation International. 12(2): 169–187. Close ), and birds can change from one to the other. There is some evidence that this species changes only from slow song to fast song, whereas the reverse is true in its sibling species G. leucometopia on Hispaniola (7 Kirwan, G.M. and Kirkconnell, A. (2002). The avifauna of Pálpite, Ciénaga de Zapata, Cuba, and the importance of the area for globally threatened and endemic birds. El Pitirre. 15(3): 101–109. Close ). Calling occurs year-round, though vocal activity is strongly diminished during wet season (May–Sept) (3 Garrido, O.H., Kirwan, G.M. and Capper, D.R. (2002). Species limits within Grey-headed Quail-dove Geotrygon caniceps and implications for the conservation of a globally threatened species. Bird Conservation International. 12(2): 169–187. Close ).

Season at least Jan–Aug, as birds ready to lay collected in early Aug (3 Garrido, O.H., Kirwan, G.M. and Capper, D.R. (2002). Species limits within Grey-headed Quail-dove Geotrygon caniceps and implications for the conservation of a globally threatened species. Bird Conservation International. 12(2): 169–187. Close ). Nest of twigs and leaves, lined with rootlets and/or grasses (2 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 ), placed 1–3 m above ground, in fork near main branch of bush or in  central depression of a broken palm, surrounded and masked by tall grass (3 Garrido, O.H., Kirwan, G.M. and Capper, D.R. (2002). Species limits within Grey-headed Quail-dove Geotrygon caniceps and implications for the conservation of a globally threatened species. Bird Conservation International. 12(2): 169–187. Close ). Clutch 1–2 beige-coloured eggs. In captivity: incubation 13 days; fledging 12 days, but may clamber out of nest when aged ten days (2 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 ).

VULNERABLE. Restricted-range species: present in Cuba EBA. One of the rarest doves on Cuba, where mainly recorded in W & C, and now generally very uncommon and local, but known from ten localities in Zapata region alone (7 Kirwan, G.M. and Kirkconnell, A. (2002). The avifauna of Pálpite, Ciénaga de Zapata, Cuba, and the importance of the area for globally threatened and endemic birds. El Pitirre. 15(3): 101–109. Close ), and 45 localities in total (8 Sánchez, B. (2012). Geotrygon caniceps. Pp. 236–238 in:. Close ). No definite reports from any offshore cays. Has been found at densities of 0·31–0·70 birds / ha in Ciénaga de Zapata, one of the areas in which it is most frequently observed (9 Rodríguez, D. and Sánchez, B. (1993). Ecología de las palomas terrestres cubanas (Género Geotrygon y Starnoenas). [Ecology of Cuban terrestrial doves (Genus Geotrygon and Starnoenas)]. Poeyana. 428: 1–20. (In Spanish with English summary.). Close ). Considered rarer than Starnoenas cyanocephala in Cuba, where both species are regarded as good eating and are consequently hunted using drop-traps baited with orange seeds. Population roughly estimated to be 1500–7000 mature individuals and fewer than 10,000 birds in total BirdLife International (2016) Species factsheet: Geotrygon caniceps. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 21/01/2016. . Censuses are needed to more accurately determine its current range and population. Chief threats are habitat fragmentation and loss, hunting and introduced predators. Recorded in 14 protected areas (8 Sánchez, B. (2012). Geotrygon caniceps. Pp. 236–238 in:. Close ), including Viñales (IUCN Cat. II; 111 km²), Ciénaga de Zapata (IUCN Cat. II; 4204 km²), Pico Cristal (IUCN Cat. II; 185 km²), Pico La Bayamesa (IUCN Cat. II; 242 km²), Turquino (IUCN Cat. II; 229 km²) and Alejandro de Humboldt (IUCN Cat. II; 708 km²) National Parks. Considered Vulnerable at the national level in Cuba (10 González Alonso, H. L., L. R. Schettino, A. Rodríguez, C. A. Mancina, and I. Ramos García, Editors (2012). Libro Rojo de los Vertebrados de Cuba. Editorial Academia, La Habana, Cuba. Close ).