Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon

Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Columbiformes
Family:	Columbidae
Genus:	Columba
Species:	C. torringtoni
Binomial name
Columba torringtoni Blyth & Kelaart, 1853
Synonyms
Columba torringtoniae

Columba torringtoni

The Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon (Columba torringtoni) is a pigeon which is an endemic resident breeding bird in the mountains of Sri Lanka.

This species nests in damp evergeen woodlands in the central highlands, building a stick nest in a tree and laying a single white egg. Its flight is quick, with the regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings which are characteristic of pigeons in general. Most of its food is vegetable. Normally silent it utters an owl-like hoo call in the breeding season.

The Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon is 36 cm in length. Its upperparts and tail are dark grey, and the head and underparts are lilac, becoming paler on the belly. There is a black-and-white chessboard pattern on the nape.

This pigeon can be quite easily seen in the woods of the Horton Plains National Park.

In culture

In Sri Lanka, this bird is known as Manila Goya in Sinhala Language.^[1] This Wood-pigeon in a 25c Sri Lankan postal stamp.^[2]

References

1. ^ http://www.bnhsenvis.nic.in/pdf/vol%203%20(1).pdf
2. ^ http://www.birdtheme.org/country/srilanka.html

• BirdLife International (2006). Columba torringtoni. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a range map, a brief justification of why this species is vulnerable, and the criteria used
• Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6

External links

• BirdLife Species Factsheet.