Blue-headed wood dove

Blue-headed wood dove
File:Stavenn Turtur brehmeri 00.jpg
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Columbiformes
Family:	Columbidae
Genus:	Turtur
Species:	T. brehmeri
Binomial name
Turtur brehmeri (Hartlaub, 1865)

The blue-headed wood dove (Turtur brehmeri) also known as blue-headed dove is a medium-sized, up to 25 cm long, rufous brown wood-dove with bluish-grey head, an iridescent green patches on wings, reddish bill, dark brown iris and dark red feet. Both sexes are similar. The young is duller than adult.

The blue-headed wood dove is distributed to primary rainforests of equatorial mid-western Africa, in Sierra Leone, Angola, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Nigeria, Ghana and Togo.

The blue-headed wood dove nests on trees. The nest is made from twigs, leaves and other vegetation matters. Its diet consists mainly of seeds, fallen fruits, insects and small animals taken from feeding grounds. The female usually lays between one to two eggs.

Widespread and locally common throughout its large range, the blue-headed wood dove is evaluated as least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

External links

• BirdLife Species Factsheet