Wildlifeof China
Pale-capped Pigeon
Pigeons, Doves & Sandgrouse
Photo: (c) Rejoice Gassah, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY
Columba punicea
Basic stats
Diet
Fruit, with seeds and fallen fruit taken on the ground
Habitat
Canopy of large fruiting trees, often riverine forest on the plains
Range
Patchily in the Indian subcontinent and South-east Asia
Clutch size
1, rarely 2 eggs
Size
36–40.5cm
The pale-capped pigeon, also known as the purple wood pigeon, is a large pigeon, 36–40.5cm long, found patchily in the Indian subcontinent and South-east Asia. It is all dark chestnut-brown with a contrasting pale crown, brown above and chestnut below with a green or amethyst sheen. Males have a whitish-grey cap and females a brownish-grey cap with less gloss. The legs are crimson and the iris creamy-yellow (Wikipedia, general species account).
It has a slow flight and spends a lot of time sitting still in the foliage of large fruiting trees. It is a frugivore, foraging in small groups in the canopy, mainly in the morning and evening, and sometimes descending to the ground for seeds and fallen fruit. The breeding season is May to August, and the flimsy platform nest is placed low in a tree with one or rarely two eggs (Wikipedia, general species account).
Quick answers
- What does the Pale-capped Pigeon eat?
- Fruit, with seeds and fallen fruit taken on the ground
- What habitat does the Pale-capped Pigeon live in?
- Canopy of large fruiting trees, often riverine forest on the plains
- Where is the Pale-capped Pigeon found?
- Patchily in the Indian subcontinent and South-east Asia
- How many eggs does the Pale-capped Pigeon lay?
- 1, rarely 2 eggs
- How big is the Pale-capped Pigeon?
- 36–40.5cm