The African olive pigeon or Rameron pigeon (''Columba arquatrix'') is a

pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

which is a resident breeding bird in much of eastern and southern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

from

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

to the Cape. Populations also are found in western

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, southwestern

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and northern

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

. It is locally common, although sizeable gaps in its distribution occur due to its habitat requirements.

Description

The adult male African olive pigeon is a large pigeon at in length and a weight of .''Field Guide to the Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi'' by Stevenson & Fanshawe. Elsevier Science (2001), Its back and wings are maroon, with the shoulders heavily speckled with white spots. The underparts are maroon with heavy white spotting, and the head is grey with yellow patches around the eye, and a yellow bill. The neck plumage, used in display, is streaked maroon and white, the underwing and undertail are dark grey, and the feet are yellow. Females are very similar but somewhat duller. Juvenile birds have the maroon and grey replaced with dark brown, the bare parts are a dull greenish-yellow, and the wing feathers have pale fringes. In flight, this pigeon looks very dark. Its flight is quick, with the regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings which are characteristic of pigeons in general. The call is a loud ''coo coo''.

Habitat

This is a species of cool, moist forest canopies above altitude, although it occurs locally as low as . It will use mountain fynbos, second growth, and clearings, and feed on agricultural land when not persecuted.

Behaviour

Breeding

The African olive pigeon builds a large stick nest up to high in a tree and lays one (rarely two) white

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

. The eggs are incubated for 17–20 days to hatching, and the chicks fledge in another 20 days. The male has a display consisting of deep bows, and a display flight which consists of a climb, wing clapping, and slow glide down.

Feeding

The African olive pigeon feeds on fruit and berries, mainly picked in the canopy, but it will also descend for fallen fruit and take some

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

s and caterpillars. In the south of its range, it favours the fruit of a highly invasive plant, the

bugweed ''Solanum mauritianum'' is a small tree or shrub native to South America, including Northern Argentina, Southern Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Its common names include earleaf nightshade (or "ear-leaved nightshade"), woolly nightshade, flannel we ...

, ''Solanum mauritianum''. Birds fly considerable distances from their roosts to feeding areas, and young or nonbreeding birds form flocks. Geophagy has been observed in this species.

Gallery

Image:African Olive Pigeon RWD4.jpg, Image:Columba arquatrix, by kleilek, k, Pretoria.jpg, Image:Columba arquatrix, op nes, Pretoria.jpg,

References

* Gibbs, Barnes and Cox, ''Pigeons and Doves'' (Pica Press 2001) * Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey and Warwick Tarboton, ''SASOL Birds of Southern Africa'' (Struik 2002)

External links

* (Rameron pigeon = ) African olive pigeon
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
{{Taxonbar, from=Q512840 Columba (genus) Birds of Africa Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa Birds described in 1808