Family Pigeons, Doves (Columbidae)

Least Concern

Speckled Pigeon (Columba guinea)

figure, drawing, illustration of Speckled Pigeon (Columba guinea)

Taxonomy

French: Pigeon roussard German: Guineataube Spanish: Paloma de Guinea
Other common names: Guinea Pigeon
Taxonomy:

Columba guinea

Linnaeus

, 1758,

Senegal

.

Proposed races dilloni (Eritrea) and uhehensis (SC Tanzania) included in nominate. Three subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution
  • C. g. guinea Linnaeus, 1758 – Senegambia E to Eritrea and NW Somalia, then S through Uganda and W Kenya to S Tanzania.
  • C. g. bradfieldi (Roberts, 1931) – SW Angola E to W Zimbabwe and S to NW South Africa.
  • C. g. phaeonota G. R. Gray, 1856 – E Zimbabwe S to South Africa (except NW).

    • Descriptive notes

    32–35 cm; 219–390 g. Head, breast and belly bluish grey, merging to almost silver on rump; mantle and wing-coverts An adult bird. dark reddish purple; outer... read more

    Voice

    Two main vocalizations. The presumed display call is a repeated phrase involving some four... read more

    Habitat

    Frequents a variety of habitat types in open country, including savanna, open woodland and gardens... read more

    Food and feeding

    Feeds mostly on seeds, taken on the ground in open fields; flocks gather after harvest to feed on maize, wheat, sorghum and other... read more

    Breeding

    Breeds in all months throughout much of range, with peak in dry season in Senegambia. Nest can be a bare scrape, or a few twigs, or an... read more

    Movements

    May move up to 20–25 km away from roosting or breeding sites to feeding sites; some birds... read more

    Status and conservation

    Not globally threatened. No precise figures available, but species frequently rather common, occurring in feeding flocks of up to 700 birds in places; abundant in Nigeria and... read more

    Recommended citation

    Baptista, L.F., Trail, P.W., Horblit, H.M. & Boesman, P. (2017). Speckled Pigeon (Columba guinea). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/54100 on 12 July 2017).