Key West Quail-Dove

Geotrygon chrysiaOrder: COLUMBIFORMES Family: Pigeons and Doves (Columbidae)

Codes: Common Name: KWQD Scientific Name: GEOCHR ITIS Taxonomic No.: 177179

Breeding Location:

Bushes and shrubs

Breeding Type:

Monogamous

Breeding Population:

Casual

Egg Color:

Creamy buff

Number of Eggs:

1 - 2

Incubation Days:

11 - 12

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Leaves, sticks.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

General

Key West Quail-Dove: Medium-sized dove with red-brown upperparts, gray-red nape and crown, white throat and streak below eye, and buff-gray underparts. Upperparts of male are iridescent purple and green, female is duller. Juvenile is browner.

Range and Habitat

Key West Quail-Dove: Occurs very rarely in southern Florida; primary range includes the West Indies and east as far as Puerto Rico. Preferred habitats include semi-arid and humid woodlands, scrub, and forests.

Breeding and Nesting

Key West Quail-Dove: One or two creamy buff eggs are laid in a nest made of leaves and sticks, and built on the ground or in a low tree or shrub. Incubation ranges from 11 to 12 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Key West Quail-Dove: Eats a variety of seeds, fallen berries, fruits, insects, and small snails; forages on the ground, usually beneath the cover of bushes or trees.

Vocalization

Key West Quail-Dove: Call is a groan-like sound, loud "whoe-whoe-oh-oh-oh", or mournful "oooooooooou", repeated a number of times.

Similar Species

Key West Quail-Dove: Ruddy Quail-Dove is smaller, has rich rufous or brown upperparts without iridescence, cinnamon-brown underparts, buff line beneath eye, and shorter tail.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Key West Quail-Dove

Key West Quail-Dove: Medium dove with red-brown upperparts glossed with purple and green, gray-red nape and crown, white throat and streak below eye, and buff-gray underparts. Upperparts are iridescent. Red bill has black tip. Forages on ground for fruits, seeds and insects. Legs and feet are pink. Low direct flight on rapidly beating wings.

● Song: "whoe-whoe-oh-oh-oh", "oooooooooou"

● Foraging & Feeding: Key West Quail-Dove: Eats a variety of seeds, fallen berries, fruits, insects, and small snails; forages on the ground, usually beneath the cover of bushes or trees.

● Breeding & nesting: Key West Quail-Dove: One or two creamy buff eggs are laid in a nest made of leaves and sticks, and built on the ground or in a low tree or shrub. Incubation ranges from 11 to 12 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Key West Quail-Dove: Ruddy Quail-Dove is smaller, has rich rufous or brown upperparts without iridescence, cinnamon-brown underparts, buff line beneath eye, and shorter tail.

Flight Pattern

Direct flight low on rapidly beating wings, often flies between islands.

Key West Quail-Dove Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Key West Quail-Dove: Occurs very rarely in southern Florida; primary range includes the West Indies and east as far as Puerto Rico. Preferred habitats include semi-arid and humid woodlands, scrub, and forests.

^BreedingMonogamous

^PopulationCasual

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight6 Ounces

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Crown

The crown is the top part of the birds head.

Nape

Also called the hindneck or collar, it is the back of the neck where the head joins the body.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America