Ring-tailed pigeon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ring-tailed pigeon |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Patagioenas
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| Species: |
caribaea
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| Distribution of the ring-tailed pigeon | |
| Synonyms | |
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Columba caribaea Jacquin, 1784 |
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The ring-tailed pigeon (Patagioenas caribaea) is a special type of bird that belongs to the Columbidae family, which includes all pigeons and doves. This bird is found only in Jamaica, meaning it is endemic to that island. It's known for the unique band of color on its tail.
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About the Ring-tailed Pigeon
The ring-tailed pigeon is a unique species. It is the only type of its kind, meaning it doesn't have different subspecies. Scientists think it might be closely related to other pigeons like the Chilean pigeon and the band-tailed pigeon.
What Does It Look Like?
The ring-tailed pigeon is a medium-sized bird. Males are usually between 38 to 48.5 centimeters (about 15 to 19 inches) long. Females are a bit smaller, measuring 38 to 43 centimeters (about 15 to 17 inches). One pigeon that was weighed was about 250 grams (9 ounces).
Adult male pigeons have a head, neck, and belly that are reddish or pinkish. The back of their neck has a shiny green or bronze patch. The rest of their upper body is brownish-gray. Their tail is gray, with a darker band in the middle. They have orange eyes surrounded by red skin.
Female ring-tailed pigeons look similar to males. However, their wings might have an olive or brown tint. Their underparts are a bit redder, and the shiny patch on their neck is less noticeable. Young pigeons are mostly grayish with some brown, and their belly is a fawn or cinnamon color.
Where Does It Live?
This pigeon lives only in Jamaica. You can find it most often in the John Crow Mountains, the eastern Blue Mountains, and an area called the Cockpit Country.
These birds prefer to live in wet highland forests. They also live in wet limestone forests, especially in the Cockpit Country. They can be found at high elevations, sometimes as high as 2,000 meters (about 6,560 feet) above sea level.
How Does It Behave?
What Does It Eat?
The ring-tailed pigeon eats only fruit. It is very good at finding food. Sometimes, it will even climb or hang upside-down in trees to reach the fruit it wants to eat.
How Does It Reproduce?
Ring-tailed pigeons build their nests and have their young during the spring and summer months. Their nest is like a thick platform. They build it using twigs and then line it with leaves and bark. They usually place their nests high up in a tree, hidden by climbing plants to keep their young safe.
What Does It Sound Like?
The ring-tailed pigeon has a special call it uses to attract a mate. It makes a series of 4 to 5 soft cooing sounds. It sounds like "cooOOh...cooOOh...cooOOh...".
Is It in Danger?
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) is an organization that checks on how safe animal species are. They first thought the ring-tailed pigeon was in a lot of danger. But since the year 2000, they have listed it as "Vulnerable." This means that while it's not in immediate danger of disappearing, its numbers are small and getting smaller.
There are a few big problems for these pigeons. People sometimes hunt them, and their forest homes are being destroyed. These two things are very serious threats to the ring-tailed pigeon's future.
