Barred Cuckoo-Dove Macropygia unchall Scientific name definitions

37–41 cm; 153–182 g. Forehead and throat buff merging into pinkish grey crown, ear-coverts and nape; green or purplish pink iridescence on hindneck; sides of breast and neck mauve pink with fine black bars and some green iridescence; rest of underparts pinkish grey merging to buff on belly and undertail-coverts; flanks dusky; back , wings and central rectrices barred black and chestnut; outer rectrices blue-grey with broad black subter­minal band, whitish on basal half of outer webs of outermost pair; iris with inner pale blue or sometimes brown ring, surrounded by pink outer ring; orbital skin bluish grey, eyelids purple; bill dark grey, feet and legs dull cherry red or purplish brown. Female reddish brown on head and breast merging to buff on face and belly, with fine black bars evident throughout; hindneck with some green iridescence; basal portion of inner webs of outer rectrices chestnut. Juvenile similar to female, but young male slightly darker and redder. Race <em>tusalia</em> slightly larger and darker than nominate, with pink tinge on head and breast richer; <em>minor</em> smaller.

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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.

Inhabits dense evergreen forest and secondary jungle at 450–2750 m in Himalayas. In Sumatra, Java,  Bali, Lombok and Flores occurs in sub-montane and montane forests and occasionally gardens and coconut plantations at 800–3000 m (1 Coates, B. J., and K. D. Bishop (1997). A Guide to the Birds of Wallacea: Sulawesi, The Moluccas and Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. Dove Publications, Alderley, Queensland, Australia. Close , 2 Reeve, A. H. and S. Rabenak (2016). New distributional information for the birds of Flores, Indonesia, including new localities for the Endangered Flores Scops Owl Otus alfredi. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 136(1):3–13. Close ). Observed in pairs or groups of up to 10 individuals.

Sedentary and resident throughout most of range, but Himalayan birds may move down to adjacent plains in winter. Vagrant to Bangladesh (3 Thompson, P. M., S. U. Chowdhury, E. Ul Haque, M. M. H. Khan, and R. Halder (2014). Notable bird records from Bangladesh from July 2002 to July 2013. Forktail 30:50–65. Close ). Also vagrant to Hong Kong and to Shanghai region of E China.

Seeds, grain, buds, shoots, acorns, berries and small drupes constitute its diet. Occasionally feeds on the ground in open glades in forest, but more usually in trees where it is very acrobatic, like fruit-doves; may hang upside-down from a tree and swing out towards a berry, other­wise just out of reach.

Most common vocalization is a repeated overslurred hoot, preceeded by a soft introductory syllable audible only at close range “hu-whoOOow”, at a rate of typically c. 1 hoot/1.5 seconds.

In India and Nepal, breeds at least Mar–Jul; nests found Dec–Mar in Malaysia; no data on seasonality from Greater or Lesser Sundas. Nest is large, flimsy platform of twigs, placed 2–8 m up in a sapling or stunted oak. Lays 1, occasionally 2, slightly glossy white or cream-coloured eggs, occasionally with a very small number of olive-yellow speckles and spots; incubation 15–16 days; fledging 19 days.

Not globally threatened. Considered common in S Vietnam and Thailand. Occurs throughout Sumatra, Java and Bali where said to be common, although less so than M. ruficeps. Also on Mt Rinjani, Lombok, and on Flores (4 Mees, G. F. (2006). The avifauna of Flores (Lesser Sunda Islands). Zoologische Verhandelingen Leiden 80(3):1–261. Close ), where apparently scarce. Scarce in Nepal.