The olive pigeons are four allopatric species of
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 small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...
, named for their association with olive (''
Olea
''Olea'' ( ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. It includes 12 species native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia. They are evergreen trees and s ...
'') species.
[The word "olive" in the English, German and some Afrikaans names of ''Columba arquatrix'' refers to a favoured food and not to the bird's colouring, see: ] They have a maroon tone to the speckled plumage, and inhabit cool, montane forests of Africa and its associated islands. Together with the
speckled wood pigeon
The speckled wood pigeon (''Columba hodgsonii''), also known as Hodgson's pigeon or Jungle pigeon, is a medium-sized pigeon of the bird family Columbidae and genus ''Columba (genus), Columba.'' It is a Monotypic taxon, monotypic species. It measu ...
, they are seen as members of 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 ...
,
which has affinities with the
white-naped pigeon.
*African olive pigeon, ''
Columba arquatrix''
*Cameroon olive pigeon, ''
Columba sjostedti''
*São Tomé olive pigeon, ''
Columba thomensis''
*Comoros olive pigeon, ''
Columba pollenii''
*Speckled wood pigeon, ''
Columba hodgsonii'', of Asia
Notes
{{Animal common name
*
Birds by common name