Pallid Dove (Leptotila pallida)

Identification & Behavior: ~26.5 cm (10.4 in). The Pallid Dove has a brownish unmarked back. The neck and underparts are gray with shades of brown. The iris is pale. The orbital skin is red. The bill is black. The tail is gray-brownish with white tips that look like a narrow terminal band. It is similar to the White-tipped Dove and Ochre-bellied Dove but is distinguished by the contrast between the brown back and pale gray rest of the body.

Status: The Pallid Dove is common, but restricted to the humid and semi-deciduous forest of extreme northwest Peru in Tumbes. It is known to range at elevations of 900 m along the foothills of the western Andes. It also occurs in Co and Ec.

Name in Spanish: Paloma Pálida.

Sub-species: Pallid Dove (Leptotila pallida), Berlepsch and Taczanowski 1884.

Meaning of Name: Leptotila: Gr. Lepto= mites slim, slender, thin, skinny and ptilon = plumage. pallida:L. Pallidus= pale, lack of color.

See more of the Family Columbidae