Ruddy quail-dove facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ruddy quail-dove |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Geotrygon
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| Species: |
montana
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| Synonyms | |
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Columba montana Linnaeus, 1758 |
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The ruddy quail-dove (Geotrygon montana) is a beautiful bird from the Columbidae family, which includes doves and pigeons. These birds live in warm places like the West Indies, Central America, and tropical South America. Sometimes, they even visit Florida and southern Texas! Ruddy quail-doves lay two light brown eggs. They build their nests on shrubs, but sometimes they build them right on the ground.
Contents
About the Ruddy Quail-Dove
What Does It Look Like?
The ruddy quail-dove is about 19 to 28 centimeters (7.5 to 11 inches) long. It has a special look with a rust-colored back and wings. It also has a rust-colored "mask" on its face. Its chest, rump, and a stripe under its eye are a lighter brown color.
Where Do They Live?
You can find these birds in woodland areas and scrub forests. They have also learned to live in coffee plantations. Ruddy quail-doves are a bit sensitive to forest fragmentation, which means when large forests are broken up into smaller pieces.
What Do They Eat?
These birds like to search for food on the ground. They mostly eat seeds. They also enjoy eating small invertebrates, which are tiny creatures without backbones, like insects.
How Scientists Name Animals
The History of the Ruddy Quail-Dove's Name
Many years ago, in the early 1700s, naturalists like John Ray and George Edwards described and drew the ruddy quail-dove. Later, in 1758, a famous Swedish scientist named Carl Linnaeus gave it a scientific name. He put it in the group Columba with other pigeons. He called it Columba montana. The word montana comes from Latin and means "of the mountains."
Today, the ruddy quail-dove is in a different group called Geotrygon. This group was created in 1847 by an English naturalist named Philip Henry Gosse.
Different Types of Ruddy Quail-Doves
Scientists recognize two main types, or subspecies, of the ruddy quail-dove:
- G. m. martinica (named by Linnaeus in 1766) – This type lives in the Lesser Antilles.
- G. m. montana (named by Linnaeus in 1758) – This type lives from Mexico all the way to northeast Argentina, including the Greater Antilles and Trinidad.
See Also
- List of Puerto Rican birds
- List of Vieques birds
