Picui ground dove
The Picui ground dove or Picui dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Picui ground dove and croaking ground dove are sometimes considered sister species. The Picui ground dove has two subspecies, the nominate C. p. picui and C. p. strepitans.Description
The Picui ground dove is long and weighs. The nominate adult male's forehead and throat are whitish with a narrow black stripe in front of the eye. Its crown and nape are gray that becomes brownish gray on the shoulders, back, rump, and central tail feathers. The folded wing appears pinkish fawn with two white bands bordered by black. The neck and breast are pinkish gray and the belly white. The adult female is duller with less pink. These differences are faint to the human eye, but there are significant differences in ultraviolet reflectance, to which birds are believed sensitive. The juvenile is duller and browner than the adults. The upperparts and wing of C. p. strepitans are grayer than the nominate's, with less pink.Distribution and habitat
The nominate subspecies of Picui ground dove is widely distributed east of the Andes in eastern and southern Bolivia, Paraguay, and southern Brazil south through Uruguay and most of Argentina, and also west of the Andes in central Chile. It winters north to eastern Peru. C. p. strepitans has a smaller range in several states of northeastern Brazil.The Picui ground dove mostly inhabits arid landscapes such as forest edge and savanna with its scattered trees and other cover, mesquite scrub forest, suburbs, gardens, and cultivated lands. In northwestern Argentina it ranges as high as and in Bolivia up to. In most of the rest of its range it is seldom found above.