The Zoochat Photographic Guide To Mesites, Pigeons And Sandgrouse

The next project I thought I would work on is a discussion of the Columbimorphae, a group proposed in recent years following genetic and morphological analysis which encompasses the mesites of Madagascar along with sandgrouse and pigeons/doves.

The exact position of these groups in relationship to one another, and a wide variety of other bird families, has been debated for many decades; the mesites in particular have moved around the avian family tree with a remarkable amount of fluidity, having been regarded at various times as a sister group to the rails within the Gruiformes, affiliated with the equally-cryptic sunbird and kagu, and even suggested to belong within the Passeriformes as close kin to the dippers. Similarly, although some kinship with the pigeons has been regularly proposed throughout the decades, sandgrouse have been suggested to be closer to groups such as the Galloansere and Charadriformes at various points in time.

However, currently the monophyly of the Columbimorphae appears to be reasonably-solid - given this fact, and the fact that both the mesites and sandgrouse are relatively small groups ill-fitting of being the sole subject of a thread like this one, it seems only sensible to deal with them alongside the pigeons.... which are much more speciose

 

COLUMBIMORPHAE



This clade comprises three extant orders and a total of three extant families, as follows:


MESITORNITHIFORMES

MESITORNITHIDAE - Mesites (2 genera, 3 species)


COLUMBIFORMES

COLUMBIDAE - Pigeons and Doves (49 genera, c.350 species)


PTEROCLIFORMES

PTEROCLIDAE - Sandgrouse (2 genera, 16 species)
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MESITORNITHIDAE


This family comprises two extant genera:

Mesitornis - White-Breasted and Brown Mesites (2 species)

Monias - Subdesert Mesite (monotypic)
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Mesitornis


White-breasted Mesite (Mesitornis variegatus)

The range of this species extends across west-central and northern Madagascar in three disjunct populations.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Brown Mesite (Mesitornis unicolor)

The range of this species extends throughout eastern Madagascar, from Marojejy in the northeast to Tolagnaro in the southeast.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.
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Monias


Subdesert Mesite (Monias benschi)

The range of this species is restricted to a small area of the sub-desert biome in southwest Madagascar.

Monotypic.

Photo by @lintworm

 

Before I start discussing the pigeons in earnest, a short note; unlike most of the photographic guides thus far, which have tended to avoid the subject, I feel that in this case it would be worthwhile to cover some of the extinct species within the group in question given how famous some of these taxa are.

As such, the accounts to follow *will* include species such as the Passenger Pigeon, Dodo, Rodrigues Solitaire and Choiseul Crested Pigeon amongst others. Further notes on the precise placement of the giant Mascarene taxa will be made in the appropriate place and time.

 

COLUMBIDAE


This family comprises 45 extant genera, and four recently-extinct genera, within three subfamilies and eight lineages:


Columbinae

Columbini - True doves/pigeons, Cuckoo-doves and allies (10 genera)

Zenaidini - Quail-doves (6 genera)


Columbininae

Columbinini - New World Ground-doves (4 genera)


Raphinae

Phabini - Bronzewings and allies (9 genera)

Raphini - Indopacific terrestrial pigeons (8 genera)

Turturini - Indopacific Ground-doves (4 genera)

Treronini - Green Pigeons (1 genus)

Ptilinopini - Imperial Pigeons and Fruit-doves (11 genera)
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Columbini


This lineage comprises 10 genera, one of which is recently-extinct:

Ectopistes - Passenger Pigeon (monotypic)

Columba - True Pigeons (35 species)

Aplopelia - Lemon Dove (monotypic)

Streptopelia - Turtle and Collared Doves (15 species)

Spilopelia - Spotted Doves (3 species)

Nesoenas - Malagasy and Mascarene Turtle-doves (5 species)

Macropygia - True Cuckoo-doves (10 species)

Turacoena - White-faced and Black Cuckoo-doves (2 species)

Reinwardtoena - Great Cuckoo-dove and allies (3 species)

Patagioenas - New World Pigeons (19 species)

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Ectopistes


Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius)

Extinct; this species formerly ranged throughout central and eastern Canada and the eastern USA, with occasional records from northeast Mexico and Cuba. Extremely common before hunting and habitat loss caused the species to decline rapidly over the course of the 19th century; extirpated from the wild in c.1900, with the last captive specimen dying in 1914.

Monotypic.

Photo of a taxidermy specimen by @jbnbsn99 - taken at the International Wildlife Museum in Tucson, Arizona.

 

Columba


Bonin Woodpigeon (Columba versicolor)

Extinct; this species was formerly endemic to Nakodo-jima and Chichi-jima in the Bonin Islands of Japan, and is known only from four specimens collected between 1827 and 1889. The extinction of the species is believed to have been caused by habitat loss and predation by introduced species.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Ryukyu Woodpigeon (Columba jouyi)

Extinct; this species was formerly endemic to islands in the Okinawa archipelago, southwest of the Japanese mainland. The last confirmed record of this species dates to 1936, with scattered unconfirmed reports on isolated islets into the early 1960s. The extinction of this species is believed to have been caused by habitat loss.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Mauritius Woodpigeon (Columba thiriouxi)

Extinct; this species was formerly endemic to Mauritus. It is known only from a sub-fossil tarsometatarsus collected in 1910, and its taxonomic classification is uncertain. It is presumed to have been extirpated at some point in the 17th or 18th century due to habitat loss, hunting and/or the introduction of predator species.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Rock Dove (Columba livia)

The ancestor of the feral pigeon, and as such the native range - and the purity/identity of any true wild populations - is somewhat unclear; it is believed to extend throughout western and southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, and into Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Introduced and feral populations are present more-or-less worldwide, outside the Arctic circle and Antarctica.

Nine subspecies recognised; as noted, the purity and/or validity of many of these is questioned:

C. l. livia - photo by @Maisie



C. l. gymnocycla
C. l. targia
C. l. dakhlae
C. l. schimperi
C. l. palaestinae
C. l. gaddi
C. l. neglecta
C. l. intermedia


Hill Pigeon (Columba rupestris)

The range of this species extends throughout central and eastern Asia, from Turkestan and southern Siberia, through Mongolia and northern China, to the Russian Far East and Korean Peninsula.

Two subspecies recognised:

C. r. turkestanica - photo by @Chlidonias



C. r. rupestris


Snow Pigeon (Columba leuconota)

The range of this species extends throughout Central Asia and the Himalayas, from the southern Altai Mountains and Afghanistan in the west, through northern Pakistan, northern India and Nepal, and into southwest China, Bhutan and northernmost Myanmar in the east.

Two subspecies recognised:

C. l. leuconota
C. l. gradaria

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Speckled Pigeon (Columba guinea)

The range of this species extends across much of sub-Saharan Africa, absent only from the Congo Basin and adjacent rainforest areas, and the majority of the eastern coastline south of the Horn of Africa.

Three subspecies recognised:

C. g. guinea
C. g. bradfieldi
C. g. phaeonota

Photo by @Hix




White-collared Pigeon (Columba albitorques)

Endemic to the highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Monotypic.

Photo by @LaughingDove




Stock Dove (Columba oenas)

The range of this species extends throughout Europe and the Middle East into Central Asia, from the British Isles and Iberian Peninsula in the west to southwest Siberia in the east; a disjunct population exists in southern Central Asia, from the southern Altai Mountains through Tien Shan to Xinjiang.

Two subspecies recognised:

C. o. oenas - photo by @vogelcommando



C. o. yarkandensis


Yellow-eyed Pigeon (Columba eversmanni)

The range of this species extends throughout Central Asia, from the Aral Sea in the west to Tien Shan in the east and south to northwest Iran and adjacent Afghanistan, with wintering populations present in the northeast Indian subcontinent.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Somali Pigeon (Columba oliviae)

Endemic to the coastline of northern and northeast Somalia.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Common Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus)

The range of this species extends throughout Europe and North Africa into western Asia, from the British Isles and Iberian Peninsula in the west to western Siberia and the Middle East in the east; a disjunct population is present in southern Central Asia and the Himalayas.

Four extant subspecies recognised:

C. p. azorica
C. p. palumbus - photo by @Jackwow



C. p. iranica
C. p. casiotis


Madeira Laurel-pigeon (Columba trocaz)

Endemic to northern Madeira.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Dark-tailed Laurel-pigeon (Columba bollii)

Endemic to the western Canary Islands.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


White-tailed Laurel-pigeon (Columba junoniae)

Endemic to the western Canary Islands.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Afep Pigeon (Columba unicincta)

The range of this species extends throughout southern West Africa and the Congo Basin in a pair of disjunct population; from Sierra Leone in the west to Ghana in the east; and from southeast Nigeria through the Congo Basin to Uganda in the east and northern Angola in the south.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.

 

African Olive-pigeon (Columba arquatrix)

The range of this species extends patchily throughout eastern and southern Africa in a highly fragmented distribution, from Eritrea in the north to southern South Africa in the south; a pair of disjunct populations exist in northern Yemen and western Angola respectively.

Monotypic.

Photo by @alexkant




Cameroon Olive-pigeon (Columba sjostedti)

The range of this species is restricted to the highlands of eastern Nigeria and adjacent Cameroon, with an additional population present on Bioko Island.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Sao Tome Olive-pigeon (Columba thomensis)

Endemic to Sao Tome.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Comoro Olive-pigeon (Columba pollenii)

Endemic to the Comoro Islands.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Speckled Woodpigeon (Columba hodgsonii)

The range of this species extends throughout southern and eastern Asia, from Kashmir in the west, through the Himalayas into west-central China and Myanmar in the east, and south into northernmost Indochina.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


White-naped Pigeon (Columba albinucha)

The range of this species comprises a pair of highly-disjunct populations in central Africa; in western Cameroon; and in the eastern Congo Basin from eastern DRC to western Uganda.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Ashy Woodpigeon (Columba pulchricollis)

The range of this species extends throughout southern and eastern Asia, from west-central Nepal in the west, through the Himalayas into south-central China and northern Myanmar in the east, and south into northernmost Indochina; a disjunct population exists on Taiwan.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Maguari




Nilgiri Woodpigeon (Columba elphinstonii)

Endemic to the Western Ghats of southwest India.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Sri Lanka Woodpigeon (Columba torringtoniae)

Endemic to the highlands of central Sri Lanka.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Chlidonias




Pale-capped Pigeon (Columba punicea)

The range of this species comprises several disjunct populations in south Asia; the northeast Ghats of India; Assam and adjacent Myanmar; and southern Vietnam. Wintering populations have been recorded across Indochina.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Goura




Silvery Pigeon (Columba argentina)

The range of this species is restricted to a small handful of islets off the coastline of western Sumatra; the species was believed extinct until recently, with the last confirmed sighting prior to 2008 having taken place in the 1930s. The historical range appears to have extended across much of the Greater Sundas, with records from Sumatra, Borneo and various offshore islands.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Andaman Woodpigeon (Columba palumboides)

Endemic to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Japanese Woodpigeon (Columba janthina)

The range of this species extends across offshore islands off the south-west coast of South Korea to the Ryukyu and Bonin Islands of southern Japan.

Three subspecies recognised:

C. j. janthina - photo by @Goura



C. j. stejnegeri
C. j. nitens


Metallic Pigeon (Columba vitiensis)

The range of this species extends throughout the Phillipines and Lesser Sundas and into New Guinea and scattered island chains throughout Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia.

C. v. griseogularis - photo by @Tomek



C. v. anthracina
C. v. metallica
C. v. halmaheira - photo by @Goura



C. v. leopoldi
C. v. hypoenochroa
C. v. vitiensis - photo by @Chlidonias



C. v. castaneiceps


White-headed Pigeon (Columba leucomela)

The range of this species extends across the eastern coastline of Australia, from east-central Queensland to southeast Victoria.

Monotypic.

Photo by @WhistlingKite24




Yellow-legged Pigeon (Columba pallidiceps)

Endemic to the Solomon Islands and Bismarck Archipelago.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon (Columba delegorguei)

The range of this species extends in a fragmented and disjunct distribution across eastern and southern Africa, from southeast South Sudan in the north to northeast South Africa in the south.

Two subspecies recognised:

C. d. sharpei
C. d. delegorguei

Photo by @vogelcommando




Western Bronze-naped Pigeon (Columba iriditorques)

The range of this species extends throughout southern West Africa and the Congo Basin in a pair of disjunct population; from Sierra Leone and southeast Guinea in the west, through the Congo Basin and adjacent areas to southwest Uganda in the east and northwest Zambia in the south.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Sao Tome Bronze-naped Pigeon (Columba malherbii)

Endemic to Príncipe, São Tomé and Pagalu in the Gulf of Guinea.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.

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Aplopelia


Lemon Dove (Aplopelia larvata)

The range of this species extends throughout the montane forests of sub-Saharan Africa in a widespread but extremely fragmented and patchy distribution, with the majority of disjunct populations located throughout eastern Africa from the Horn of Africa to the Cape, and a smaller number in West Africa and Central Africa.

Seven subspecies recognised:

A. l. inornata - photo by @vogelcommando



A. l. principalis
A. l. simplex
A. l. bronzina
A. l. larvata - photo by @Maguari



A. l. jacksoni
A. l. samaliyae

 

Looking at ZTL, it seems this species is currently on-display at Warsaw; the entry is illustrated by a photograph taken by @Tomek - any chance you can upload this image to the gallery for the purposes of this thread?

 

I suppose now I have to start looking to see which species of pigeons I have photographed!

 

Always worth a looksee

Excellent - not only a new species for the gallery but a new family and order too!

 

It is greyer than in other subspecies, but the area in question *can* be reasonably pale; see this wild photograph:

Metallic Pigeon (Columba vitiensis) A perched bird | the Internet Bird Collection | HBW Alive

The photo by devilfish is certainly a lot darker in that respect than any griseogularis I have seen, too.

 

Streptopelia


European Turtle-dove (Streptopelia turtur)

The range of this species extends throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East and into Central Asia, from the British Isles and Iberian Peninsula in the west to northwest China and western Siberia in the east; populations winter in the Sahel of Africa.

Four subspecies recognised:

S. t. turtur - photo by @TeaLovingDave



S. t. arenicola - photo by @Zoo Tycooner FR



S. t. hoggara
S. t. rufescens


Dusky Turtle-dove (Streptopelia lugens)

The range of this species extends from the southwest Arabian Peninsula into eastern Africa, from Ethiopia and Eritrea in the north, through Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya to Malawi and Tanzania in the south.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Goura




Adamawa Turtle-dove (Streptopelia hypopyrrha)

The range of this species extends across West Africa in a patchy and fragmented distribution of disjunct populations, from Senegal and Gambia in the west to Cameroon in the east.

Monotypic.

Photo by @jayjds2




Oriental Turtle-dove (Streptopelia orientalis)

The range of this species extends from Central Asia and western Siberia in the west, east through southern and eastern Siberia to the Russian Far East, Korean peninsula and Japan, and south into the Indian subcontinent, Himalayas, central and southeast China and northern Indochina; the species is largely absent from the Tibetan plateau and northwest China.

Six subspecies recognised:

S. o. meena
S. o. orientalis - photo by @Patrick87



S. o. stimpsoni
S. o. orii - photo by @aardvark250



S. o. erythrocephala
S. o. agricola


Philippine Collared-dove (Streptopelia dusumieri)

The range of this species extends throughout the Philippines and into northernmost Borneo.

Monotypic.

Photo by @ThylacineAlive




Sunda Collared-dove (Streptopelia bitorquata)

The range of this species extends throughout Java and into the Lesser Sunda Islands as far east as Timor.

Monotypic.

Photo by @ThylacineAlive




Eurasian Collared-dove (Streptopelia decaocto)

The range of this species extends throughout Europe and the Middle East, through Central Asia into northern China and the Korean Peninsula, and south throughout the Indian subcontinent and the western foothills of the Himalayas; introduced populations exist worldwide, although the population in Japan may represent natural colonisation. The original range of this species was restricted to the Indian subcontinent and adjacent portions of Afghanistan and western China, but expanded into China, Central Asia and northeast Turkey from the 18th century onwards; a second much more explosive range expansion took place in the mid-20th century, marking the rapid colonisation of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

Monotypic.

Photo by @ThylacineAlive




Burmese Collared-dove (Streptopelia xanthocycla)

Endemic to the dry plains of central Myanmar.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


African Collared-dove (Streptopelia roseogrisea)

The range of this species extends across the Sahel and adjacent areas of sub-Saharan Africa, from southwest Mauritania and Senegal in the west to eastern Ethiopia and northern Somalia in the east, and across the Gulf of Aden to southwest Yemen and adjacent areas of the Arabian Peninsula; introduced and naturalised populations of the domesticated "Barbary Dove" form exist worldwide.

Two subspecies recognised:

S. r. roseogrisea - photo by @Ituri



S. r. arabica


White-winged Collared-dove (Streptopelia reichenowi)

The range of this species is restricted to southwest Ethiopia and adjacent portions of southwest Somalia along the Shebelle and Jubba rivers.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Mourning Collared-dove (Streptopelia decipiens)

The range of this species extends across the Sahel and adjacent areas of sub-Saharan Africa, from southwest Mauritania and Senegal in the west to Ethiopia and Somalia in the east, and south from here across much of eastern Africa to southern Mozambique and adjacent South Africa; west from here the range of the species extends to western Angola.

Six subspecies recognised:

S. d. shelleyi
S. d. logonensis
S. d. decipiens
S. d. elegans
S. d. perspicillata - photo by @Hix



S. d. ambigua


Red-eyed Dove (Streptopelia semitorquata)

The range of this species extends across much of sub-Saharan Africa, absent only from the arid regions of Angola and Namibia, the Horn of Africa and the central portions of the Congo Basin; the species also extends into the southwest Arabian Peninsula.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Hix




Ring-necked Dove (Streptopelia capicola)

The range of this species extends across southern and eastern Africa, from the Congo and adjacent Cabinda-Angola south to the Cape and east to Kenya and Tanzania, and north from here to Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Six subspecies recognised:

S. c. electa - photo by @Maguari



S. c. somalica
S. c. tropica
S. c. onguati
S. c. damarensis - photo by @Maguari



S. c. capicola - photo by @TeaLovingDave




Vinaceous Dove (Streptopelia vinacea)

The range of this species extends across northern sub-Saharan Africa, from southwest Mauritania and Senegal in the west to northern Uganda, central Ethiopia and Eritrea in the east.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Red Turtle-dove (Streptopelia tranquebarica)

The range of this species extends across southern and eastern Asia, from southwest Pakistan, through peninsular India, Myanmar and Bhutan to Indochina in the south, and throughout central and eastern China to the north; from here the species extends into Hainan, Taiwan and the northern Philippines.

Two subspecies recognised:

S. t. tranquebarica - photo by @vogelcommando



S. t. humilis - photo by @LaughingDove


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