Speckled Wood-Pigeon

General Characteristics: Size of the Speckled wood pigeon is usually 38–40 cm (15–15.5 in) for adults. Adult male has a pale gray head, while female's head is grayish-brown, juvenile resembles the female but browner and paler than female. Adult male has a pinkish-silver breast and side of neck area, speckled with black spots, each feather on the breast area has a silver base, dark central streak, and the tip is silvery-pink. Hindneck feathers have black or purplish-black bases with silver tips, creating a speckled appearance. Female neck and breast color in less vibrant tones compared to male. Plumage: Mantle and wing-coverts of male is dark reddish-purple/burgundy/maroon on the upper part, turning into bluish-gray on the outer wing-coverts. Upper mantle has silver flecks, and white spots on inner and median wing-coverts. In female, scapulars and mantle lack of maroon coloration and replaced with slaty dark brown. Speckles on the juvenile is indistinct. Tail and primaries black/blackish-brown in both male and female, underwing and undertail is blackish. Belly/abdomen is maroon/dark-reddish purple with pinkish-white streaks in male, each feather with white fringes and is purplish. Females have dark brownish gray underparts without maroon coloration. Legs are brownish yellow-greenish in adults. …

Distribution: Speckled wood pigeon is distributed across the Himalayas, from Kashmir to western and central China (Including southern Gansu, western Sichuan, and western Yunnan), the presence of this species is also found in India, Myanmar, northern and western Thailand, northern and western Laos, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, and Afghanistan. Habitat: Speckled wood pigeons inhabit tall evergreen and semi-evergreen hill forests, particularly those dominated by oak and Rhododendron, at altitudes ranging from 1,800–4,000 meters (5,900–13,100 ft), though it may descend to as low as 1,350 meters (4,430 ft) in winter depending on food availability. Sometimes observed in open treeless valley bottoms.

Primarily frugivorous and granivorous, foraging primarily on acorns, berries, drupes, and fruits like those from Prinsepia utilis. They are also known to feed on herbs and cereals. Often gathering on the ground to consume leftover grains in fields after harvest. Have been observed feeding on the acorns of brown oak (Quercus semecarpifollia) and fig (Ficus). Typically feed in pairs, small groups, or flocks of 6-10 individuals.