What to Know About the African Green-pigeon in Kibale Forest National Park-Uganda?

The African Green Pigeon in Uganda is one of the African birds in Uganda seen during Birding Tours. The rock pratincole is a species of bird in the family Glareolidae. The African Green Pigeons (Treron calvus) – also known as Bare-faced Green Pigeons, Green Fruit-Pigeons or, simply “Green Pigeons“.

How Does the African Green-pigeon in Kibale Forest National Park-Uganda Look Like?

Mature adults have dark gray or brown plumage with a white line beginning beneath the eye extending to the back of the neck like a collar.

Their wings are long and dark with a distinct white patch on the underwing. Their tail is forked and they usually have a white belly.

The bill is black with a red base and the legs and eyes are coral red. Both sexes emit a faint whistling contact call and musical purring but can become very noisy when aggressive.

Measurements: length: 16.5–19.5 cm; wing: 14.3–16.0 cm; bill: 10-12mm; tail: 5–6 cm; mass: 43–52 grams.

How Does the African Green-pigeon in Kibale Forest National Park-Uganda Sing and Make Calls?

Their calls are described as a series of flowing whistles, rendered as ‘thweeeloo, thweeeoo’.

How Does the African Green-pigeon in Kibale Forest National Park-Uganda Feed?

They live in flocks of about 26 pairs in and on the rocks feeding upon insects in the morning and evening and wading in the cool waters during the heat of the day.

They will feed during day if overcast is present and can be routinely seen perched on a hippopotamus scavenging for insects.

Its diet consists mostly of flies, moths, ants, beetles, grasshoppers and cicadas. Their prey is attacked aerially.

How Does the African Green-pigeon in Kibale Forest National Park-Uganda Nest?

They nest in a tree fork that offers an adequate vantage point of their surrounds. The nest is a weak platform of sticks, collected by the male and arranged by the female. Nesting may take place in any month of the year.

How Does the African Green-pigeon in Kibale Forest National Park-Uganda Breed?

An elaborate courtship occurs in flight with wings held high over the back with neck feathers flared to emphasize their collar.

They are monogamous and keep the same mate for life. Breeding pairs withdraw from the flock and become territorial of their nest and only breed in times of drought.

How Does the African Green-pigeon in Kibale Forest National Park-Uganda Reproduce?

The female lays 1–2 eggs in the depression of a smooth rock in sites surrounded by water. Both sexes incubate the nest and frequently return to the nest with wet feathers to keep their eggs cool.

Chicks are born camouflaged with brown feathers and white spots and have no white collar until it matures. They quickly take refuge in the crevices of rocks and begin swimming well quickly.