The Chilean pigeon (''Patagioenas araucana'') is a species of

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

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The Chilean pigeon is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

. It, ring-tailed pigeon (''Patagioenas caribaea''), and

band-tailed pigeon The band-tailed pigeon (''Patagioenas fasciata'') is a pigeon native to the Americas, and the largest pigeon native to North America. They are a native species throughout the Southwestern United States and Mexico, extending south to Peru. Taxo ...

(''P. fasciata'') may form a

superspecies In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

.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 Chilean pigeon is long and weighs . The adult male is mostly reddish purple. Its nape is iridescent green with a narrow white line across its top. Its lower back, rump, and tail are gray; the tail has a broad black band across its middle. The wings are gray to black. The orange eye is surrounded by a narrow pink or yellow ring and bare purple skin. Adult females are duller and browner than the males and juveniles are overall shades of gray.

Distribution and habitat

The Chilean pigeon is found in its namesake country from the Coquimbo Region south to the

Aysén Region The Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region (, , '), often shortened to Aysén Region or Aisén,Examples of name usage1, official regional government site refers to the region as "Región de Aysén"., Chile's official meteorological ...

and in Argentina immediately adjoining the southern half of its Chilean range. In much of its range it inhabits southern temperate forests, with an affinity for those dominated by ''

Araucaria ''Araucaria'' (; original pronunciation: .ɾawˈka. ɾja is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. While today they are largely confined to the Southern Hemisphere, during the Jurassic and Cretaceous they were glo ...

'' and ''

Nothofagus ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere, found across southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Guin ...

''. It is found in dryer forest in the northern part of its range, and is also known to forage in open habitats near forests.

Behavior

Feeding

The Chilean pigeon mostly forages in trees for fruit, but it will also feed on seeds in open areas.

Breeding

The Chilean pigeon's breeding season extends from December to at least March and possibly to May. It is a colonial breeder. Up to several hundred pairs will nest in the forest interior, often in a bamboo thicket. The nest is a flimsy platform of sticks through which the single egg can be seen.

Vocalization

The Chilean pigeon's song is "a series of deep ''hoos''" or "a deep doubled ''hooo-HOOOO hooo-HOOOO hooo-HOOOO...''".

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 Chilean pigeon as being of Least Concern. However, " forestation of old-growth forests has become a problem, as it leads to fragmentation and habitat reduction".

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q959977 Patagioenas Birds of Chile Birds described in 1827 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Fauna of the Valdivian temperate forests Fauna of the Chilean Matorral