The purple quail-dove (''Geotrygon purpurata'') is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family

Columbidae Columbidae is a bird Family (biology), family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the Order (biology), order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in ...

. It is found in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

and

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The purple quail-dove was at one time considered a subspecies of sapphire quail-dove, now ''Geotrygon saphirina'' but then named ''Osculatia saphirina''. Since the early 2010s it has been treated as a separate species.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 August 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved August 24, 2021

Description

The purple quail-dove is long and weighs about . The adult male has reddish-brown upperparts with a purplish wash, rich reddish purple wing

covert Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controver ...

s, and bright ultramarine back and rump. The tail is blackish with white tips on the outer three feathers. The underparts are grayish white. The head has an intricate pattern of indigo crown and nape, mostly white face and throat, a blackish purple malar stripe, and iridescent golden green sides of the neck. The eyes are pale red surrounded by bare black skin. The adult female is duller than the male and the upperparts are a less rich red-brown. Juveniles are even duller, with a less distinct facial pattern, buffy markings on the upperparts, and no iridescence.del Hoyo, J., N. Collar, G. M. Kirwan, E. F. J. Garcia, and C. J. Sharpe (2020). Purple Quail-Dove (''Geotrygon purpurata''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.sapqud1.01 retrieved September 17, 2021

Distribution and habitat

The purple quail-dove is found from northwestern Colombia south to northwestern Ecuador. It inhabits the ground and undergrowth of

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

and older secondary evergreen

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

. In Colombia it ranges from in elevation but only up to in Ecuador.

Behavior

Feeding

The purple quail-dove forages on the ground, singly or in pairs. Its diet has not been documented but it probably eats seeds and small invertebrates like other quail-doves.

Breeding

A male purple quail-dove with enlarged testes was taken in Ecuador in June, but no other information about its breeding

phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples include the date of emergence of leav ...

is known.

Vocalization

The purple quail-dove's song is "a sustained series of soft, hollow coos, 'whot, WHOO-OO-OIT'."

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has assessed the purple quail-dove as Endangered. "This species has a very small population...and which is inferred to be undergoing a moderately low continuing decline owing to the combined effects of habitat loss and degradation."

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2984148 purple quail-dove Birds of El Chocó purple quail-dove purple quail-dove