Blue-headed Wood-Dove Turtur brehmeri Scientific name definitions

25 cm; male 131–135 g, female 92–132 g. Dark chestnut brown throughout, the mantle, neck and wing-­coverts strongly tinged reddish purple, purple tinge is less pronounced on rump and tail and reduced or absent in underparts; 2–6 iridescent golden-bronze or golden-copper spots on folded wing; primaries; outer rectrices blue-grey with chestnut terminal bands separated by black subter­minal band; two paler chestnut horizontal bands bordered with bluish brown across lower back; forehead and forecrown bright greyish blue becoming darker on hindcrown and nape; dark purple stripe from gape to eye; underwing chestnut, primaries tinged black; iris dark brown tinged chestnut; bill dark purple basally becoming green distally; legs and feet purplish red or pinkish purple. Sexes similar. Juvenile indistinctly barred chestnut brown and black, and with cinnamon brown face, forehead and chin. Race infelix differs in having 2–6 iridescent green wing-spots, no or almost no banding on lower back, and less of a vinous sheen to upperparts and foreneck.

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.

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.

Lowland primary forest and old second growth up to at least 750 m. Avoids cultivated areas and heavily disturbed forest. Occasionally uses gardens, provided there is forest nearby.

Sedentary. Flight fast and direct.

Feeds on seeds, insects and their larvae, and slugs. Forages among leaves on forest floor. Often perches in understorey, within 3 m of the ground. Usually solitary or in pairs; only rarely in small parties.

Advertising call is a plaintive cooing phrase lasting c. 14–18 seconds, starting very faint and slow, gradually gaining amplitude and speed, and ending in a stuttering series of notes that are marginally lower-pitched than initial notes, totalling 20–30 notes. Phrase typically repeated several times, at a rate of c. 2 phrases/minute. Differs from congeners in giving just single notes that gradually accelerate, lacking any other rhythmic cadence by virtue of double or triple notes.

Laying in Jan in Sierra Leone; Aug in Cameroon; Dec–May in Gabon; and Jul–Oct in Zaire. Nest is a cup (15 x 20 cm in diameter) of small twigs and roots, on a base of dried dead leaves; placed on horizontal branch 2·5–5·5 m above ground in leafy undergrowth. Clutch, 1–2 eggs, cream or dark buff with an olive gloss; young fed by both parents; fledging 14 days.

Not globally threatened. Ranges from common to frequent, uncommon or rare in different parts of its distribution; rather shy and probably frequently overlooked. Common in Sierra Leone; uncommon in Ghana, where has probably declined since early part of century; uncommon in Nigeria; rare in Togo. Requirement for essentially undisturbed forest indicates that deforestation is liable to be a threat in some areas, but no relevant details available at present. CITES III in Ghana.