Ruddy Quail-Dove

IDENTIFICATION: The smallest of the three Quail-Dove species in Puerto Rico. It is bright reddish-brown above, and rufous below, with a buff---rather than white---line below the eye. The female is somewhat smaller and duller than the male. The iridescence of the bird in the photo above is exaggerated by the photographer's flash. Length: 19-28 cm.; weight: 85-152 g.

VOICE: A low-pitched, prolonged "coo", rapidly fading at the end. Heard most often in late spring and summer. Audio (G. Lasley). Like other Quail-Doves, the song is difficult to localize.

HABITAT: Dense forests, with a well-developed understory, as well as shade coffee and citrus plantations.

HABITS: Travels alone or in pairs, and forages on the forest floor for fallen berries, seeds, and invertebrates. It especially likes the seeds of grapefruits and oranges, but has to wait until the fruits have fallen and the skin has rotted enough for the bird to open. In courtship the male pursues the female in a rapid, twisting flight through the forest understory. The nest is a flimsy platform of twigs lined with leaves, placed low in a tree, on a stump, or on the ground. The female lays two buff-colored eggs. Both sexes alternate incubation for 10-11 days, and the chicks fledge about 10 days after hatching. After breeding, small groups congregate under favorite trees to eat fruits that have fallen to the ground.

STATUS AND CONSERVATION: The commonest of the Quail-Doves in Puerto Rico. This bird is often seen flying quickly across mountain roads in Puerto Rico, leaving an impression of a burst of bright, ruddy color. The recovery of native forest in the 20^th Century has helped this species. Habitat destruction, illegal hunting and predation by the introduced mongoose are threats to this species.

RANGE: Breeds from Cuba and Mexico south through the Caribbean and Central America to southern Brazil. Regular locations to find this species include Maricao and Carite state forests.

TAXONOMY: COLUMBIFORMES; COLUMBIDAE

Photo: W. Arendt*

References

Bent, A.C. 1938. Life histories of North American gallinaceous birds. Smithsonian Instit. U.S. National Museum Bull. 162. (Reprinted by Dover Press, NY, 1963).

Cruz, A. 1980. Avian feeding assemblages in Puerto Rico. Carib. J. Sci. 15:21-27.

del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal, eds. 1998. Handbook of Birds of the World, Vol. 4. Sandgrouse to cuckoos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Gibbs, D., E. Barnes, and J. Cox. 2001. Pigeons and doves: A guide to the pigeons and doves of the world. Yale University Press.

Johnson, K. P., S. de Kort, K. Dinwoodey, A. C. Mateman, C. ten Cate, C. M. Lessells, and D. H. Clayton. 2001. A molecular phylogeny of the dove genera Streptopelia and Columba. Auk. 118(4):874-887.

Norton, R. L. 1986. First record of Purple-throated Carib for the Greater Antilles and notes on vagrants in the Virgin Islands. Carib. J. Sci 22(3-4):462-463.

Ortiz Rosas, P. 1981. Guía del cazador: aves de caza y especies protegidas. Depto. de Recursos Naturales, San Juan, PR.

Pérez-Rivera, R.A. 1979. Trabajo preliminar sobre la biología y ciclo de vida de la perdiz pequeña (Geotrygon montana montana) en Puerto Rico. Science-Ciencia 6(2):85-90.

Recher, H.F. and J. T. Recher. 1966. A contribution to the knowledge of the avifauna of the Sierra de Luquillo, Puerto Rico. Carib. J. Sci. 6:151-161.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. Una guía a las aves de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Publishing Resources, Inc., Santurce, PR.

Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton.

Rivera-Milán, F.F. 1992. Distribution and abundance patterns of columbids in Puerto Rico. Condor 94:224-238.

Rodríguez, D., and B. Sanchez. 1993. Ecología de las palomas terrestres cubanas (géneros Geotrygon y Starnoenas). Poeyana 428:1-19.

Saliva, J.E. 1994. Vieques y su fauna: Vieques wildlife manual. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Boquerón, PR.

Sorrie, B.A. 1975. Observations on the birds of Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. Carib. J. Sci. 15:89-103.

Stouffer, P. C., & R. O. Bierregaard, Jr. 1993. Spatial and temporal abundance patterns of Ruddy Quail-Doves (Geotrygon montana) near Manaus, Brazil. Condor 95:896-903.

Tossas, A. G. 2001. Two new avian host records for Ornithoctona erythrocephala (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) in Puerto Rico. Carib. J. Sci. 37:115-116.

Wunderle, J.M., A. Díaz, L. Velasquez, and R. Scharrón. 1987. Forest openings and the distribution of understory birds in a Puerto Rican rainforest. Wilson Bull. 99:22-37.

Ruddy Quail-Dove, Spanish text

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