Doves and Pigeons are one of the most beautiful and colorful groups of birds living in Sri Lanka. Although there are over 300 species of doves and pigeons all over the world, only nine species can be found in Sri Lanka. Usually, the larger birds are called as pigeons and the smaller species are called doves. With their colorful plumage, they have a quite attractive appearance. Some species are reared in households as pets.
These gentle beauties belong to the order Columbiformes. They have a stout body with a short neck and small head. They have a short slender bill with a fleshy cere. A cere is a wax-like part at the top of the beak where you can see the nostrils of the bird. This is a unique feature limited to several bird species including doves, pigeons, hawks, owls, and parrots.
Here we are going to show you the regularly seen pigeons and doves in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, we will bring some interesting facts about this gorgeous bird family.
1. Pompadour Green Pigeon (පොම්පදෝරු බටගොයා)
Pompadour Green Pigeon (Treron pompadora) calls Batagoya in Sinhala. This beautiful bird is endemic to the island. This is a truly fabulous bird with a yellow face and a maroon back with yellowish lines on the wings. This prominent maroon back of the male helps to distinguish it from other species. The female has an olive-green back and pale green-marked undertail. The legs and feet of Sri Lanka Green-Pigeon are reddish.
This bird is common in most parts of the low country. They live in singly or in small groups at upper levels of forest in lowlands and hills. Small flocks move about through the forests and well-wooded areas in search of food. They have a beautiful mellow whistle sung out from the top of a tree.
Its food consists of fruit like Bo (Ficus religiosa), Nuga (Ficus bengalensis), also Palu (Manilkara hexandra) all swallowed whole. Thus, these birds mainly live associated with these trees full of fruits. It is arboreal but comes down to the ground to drink water from ponds and streams.
2. Orange-breasted Green Pigeon (ළය-රන් බටගොයා)
The Orange-breasted Green Pigeon (Treron bicincta) calls Ran Batagoya in Sinhala. The male has a pinkish band and a bright yellow breast which helps to identify them easily. The female has a yellowish-green breast and underparts.
They are common in the low country including Yala National Park and do not prefer the hill country, but live in some coastal areas. They prefer shrub jungles to tall forests. This species prefers the low bushes and moving about in search of food. Their food consists of various types of fruit, especially the berries of Lantana camara.
3. Yellow-legged Green Pigeon (සීපාදු බටගොයා)
Yellow-legged Green Pigeon (Treron phoenicoptera) is one of the three species of green pigeons in Sri Lanka. They have a bright color combination with an orange-yellow neck and green underparts. It has yellow legs and a gray shoulder strap which helps to distinguish it from the others.
These birds move about in flocks. They are difficult to locate due to their color green blending with the foliage of the trees in which they feed. When disturbed, they take off with a loud fluttering of wings. Its food consists mainly of fruits and they swallow them as a whole. It is arboreal but comes down to the ground to drink water from ponds and streams.
4. Green Imperial Pigeon (මහ නීලගොයා)
The Green Imperial Pigeon (Ducula aenea) calls Maha Neela Goya in Sinhala. This is the biggest pigeon on the island. It is a stately large, plump pigeon, 45 cm in length. Its back, wings, and tail are metallic green. The head and underparts are pearl gray, apart from maroon undertail coverts.
They live in the upper canopy of forests from lowland to lower hills going up to about 1,500 feet. It doesn’t prefer open or cultivated areas. It is a shy bird and quickly flies away on the approach of humans. However, you can observe them on the tops of tall trees with a pair of binoculars.
These birds live in pairs or small flocks. These birds feed on fruits as the other pigeons and doves do. It feeds mainly in the mornings and in the evenings. During the day it rests in a shady tree. This bird is arboreal but descends to the ground to drink water.
5. Emerald Dove (නීල කොබෙයියා)
Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica) calls Neela Kobeiya in Sinhala. This is a stunningly beautiful bird, which cannot be mistaken for any other dove or pigeon. This colorful dove’s back and wings are bright emerald green. The head and underparts are dark pink, fading to greyish on the lower belly. The eyes are dark brown, the bill bright red and the legs and feet are brown.
It lives in most parts of the country except in the arid zone. It likes the forests and well-wooded areas. Emerald doves usually occur singly, in pairs, or in small groups. They eat seeds and fruits of a wide variety of plants.
They are quite terrestrial and live mostly on the forest floor searching for fallen fruit on the ground. Actually, they spend much of their time on the ground while spending little time in trees. It can be seen on jungle roads picking up seeds and grain. On the approach of a human, it flies straight into the jungle.
6. Blue Rock Pigeon (පොදු පරවියා)
Blue Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) calls Podu Paraviya in Sinhala. There are 2 types of these birds including domestic rock pigeons and wild rock pigeons. Identification between the domestic and wild breeds is difficult since both look alike with only a slight difference.
Wild rock pigeons are pale grey with two black bars on each wing, whereas domestic pigeons have a dark bluish-grey head, neck, and chest with glossy greenish, and reddish-purple iridescent hackle feathers along their neck. The iris is orange with a paler inner ring, and the bare skin around the eye is bluish-grey. The bill is grey-black with a conspicuous off-white cere, and the feet are purplish-red.
The domestic rock pigeons are the most common pigeon species in Sri Lanka. They can be seen in many places in the country. They live in busy towns, near temples, railway stations, markets, and many more crowded places. These pigeons can be easily tamed and used as domestic pets.
The wild Blue Rock Pigeon is rare and confined to the rocky islets off the east and south coasts. In fact, there is an island named Pigeon Island on the east coast of Trincomalee because of the presence of wild rock pigeons. It was originally created as a sanctuary for the pigeons that lived there but was later converted into a Marine National Park.
7. Ceylon Wood Pigeon (ශ්රි ලංකා මයිලගොයා)
The Ceylon Wood Pigeon (Columba torringtoni) calls Maila Goya in Sinhala. This bird is endemic to the island and lives in the mountains of the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka. This pigeon is abundant in the woods of the Horton Plains National Park. Since it is a shy bird and moves off when humans arrive, it is quite difficult to capture their photographs.
The Wood pigeon is a large bird, 36 cm in length. It has a distinctive ‘checkerboard’ on the back of its neck. This black-and-white chessboard pattern on the nape helps to identify them easily. Its upperparts and tail are dark grey, and the head and underparts are lilac, becoming paler on the belly.
Wood Pigeons live in pairs for most of the time but they may join others during times when there is an abundance of fruit on the trees. It feeds on a variety of fruits and favors the fruits of the wild cinnamon. It is strictly arboreal and never comes even close to the ground.
8. Ash Dove (අලු කොබෙයියා)
The Ceylon Spotted Dove or Ash Dove( Streptopelia chinensis) is called Alu Kobeiya in Sinhala. They are a common species that can be seen everywhere in Sri Lanka. These birds are very conspicuous with their spotted collar in the back. This dove is long-tailed buff brown with a white-spotted black collar patch on the back and sides of the neck. The tail tips are white and the wing coverts have light buff spots.
Ash Doves prefer open forests and cultivated areas. It is always on the ground searching for food. It also likes to consume grass and other green matter. These birds live in pairs but sometimes small flocks are seen.
9. Eurasian Collared Dove (මාල කොබෙයියා)
The Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) calls Maha Kobeiya in Sinhala. Especially, it has a black half-collar edge with white on its nape from which it gets its name. Their eyes are dark brown, the bill bright red, and legs and feet rufous. It is about the size of the Spotted Dove.
They are confined to a narrow coastal belt north of Puttalam going up to the Jaffna Peninsula and are fairly abundant within this range. It is found in shrubland and feeds on fruit, grains, and grass. This dove descends to the ground regularly to feed.
Interesting facts
Most importantly, these birds are monogamous and stay with a single partner for their life. They are devoted to their mates for their entire lives, while both share parental duties equally.
Doves and pigeons have strong feet with three toes in front and one bigger toe at the back. Thus, their feet enable them to climb up and down the branches of the trees on which they feed. Moreover, they can walk on the ground in a strutting manner.
Particularly, their wings are strong, short, and pointed. They fly off with a loud flapping of their wings. Their flight is swift and powerful. When flying off and landing, the tails are fanned out.
The nests are made of sticks and are usually flimsy. Generally, two white eggs are laid. Both the male and the female hatch the eggs.
Pigeons and doves are strictly vegetarian and consume only fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, etc. Hence, they help to disperse the seeds throughout the jungles.
To sum up, these are the 9 species of pigeons and doves living in Sri Lanka. Definitely, you’ll see one or a few species of them during your travel to our country. We hope this information will help you to distinguish each species by their appearance. Chances are high that these friendly birds may come and flirt in your neighborhood creating a common, but truly remarkable sight. Enjoy the fabulous beauty of pigeons and doves in Sri Lanka!
Text by Magnificent Sri Lanka. Images from Wikimedia Commons, Facebook and Twitter. All the copyrights are reserved by the original authors.
