Scaly-naped Pigeon
Description
The scaly-naped pigeon (Patagioenas squamosa), also known as the red-necked pigeon, is a bird belonging to the family Columbidae. The species occurs throughout the Caribbean.
Distribution & Habitat
The Scaly-naped Pigeon is a common to fairly common year-
round resident on Puerto Rico,
the Virgin Islands, and other
islands of the Lesser Antilles,
as well as the mountain forests
of the Dominican Republic and
Haiti (Raffaele and others 1998). Its range is limited to the West
Indies and islands off the north
coast of Venezuela (Raffaele and
others 1998). In Puerto Rico,
it can be observed throughout
the main island (Raffaele 1989a)
and larger offshore islands
such as Desecheo (Meier and
others 1989), Mona (Barnés
1946, Bowdish 1902, Gordon
and others 1961, Terborgh
and Faaborg 1973), Culebra
(Wetmore 1917), and Vieques
(Sorrié 1975, USFWS 1994,
Wetmore 1916), in the latter
being a fairly common resident
(Gemmill 2015). It is an irregular
visitor to Puerto Ricos offshore
islands (Raffaele 1989a). This
species usually occurs in humid
forests (Bond 1961, Oberle 2018),
coffee plantations (Biaggi 1997),
and parks, sometimes moving into urban areas to feed on fruits
(J.A. Salguero-Faría, personal
observation 2009). Systematic
surveys of the pigeon indicate
that the species is most abundant
in moist and wet life zones and
rarer in the subtropical life zone
(Rivera-Milán 1992). The atlas
fieldwork yielded a total of 653
records within 325 hexagons
or 68 percent of the 479 total
hexagons (see map). Of the 325
hexagons where this species
was found, breeding met the
atlas definition of confirmed in
7 percent (22) of the hexagons,
probable in 45 percent (145),
and possible in 48 percent (155),
while the species was observed
in 1 percent (3) of the hexagons
but without evidence of breeding
(see map).Scaly-naped Pigeon distribution. The map shows the highest breeding code by hexagon and overlaying the ecological life zones in
Puerto Rico. Note: percentages may not total 100 due to rounding. 43Scaly-naped Pigeon/Paloma Turca
Breeding Habits
The Scaly-naped Pigeon usually builds a frail stick nest in a
tree or bush, but the nest can
also be constructed on a palm
frond or a bromeliad (Raffaele
and others 1998). Previously
published reports indicate that
the Scaly-naped Pigeon breeds
throughout the year but primarily
from March to June (Raffaele
and others 1998). On Puerto
Rico and its satellite islands,
columbid nesting season extends
from February to September,
but nest density peaks during
AprilJune, and year-round
nesting is infrequent (Rivera-
Milán 1996). Atlas results show
that this species breeding season extends throughout the year
with the most breeding activity
from March to June (see chart).
Breeding activity peaks in June
after the onset of the rainy
season, and it mostly takes place
in the subtropical moist forest life
zone (see chart). Results show
that this species breeds mostly
within the subtropical moist
forest life zone (59 percent of the
hexagons) (see table). However,
results indicate that it also breeds
at higher elevations within the
subtropical wet forest life zones
(26 percent of the hexagons),
as well as in the coastal plains
of the subtropical dry forest
life zone (15 percent of the
hexagons) (see table and map).
Conservation
The current population trend of the Scaly-naped Pigeon
is described as decreasing
(del Hoyo and others 2013).
However, this species is currently
listed as a species of least
concern by the IUCN (BirdLife
International 2016). Locally,
this species is not listed in any
of the threatened categories of
PRDNER and USFWS. In Puerto
Rico, the Scaly-naped Pigeon has
a protected habitat in land of 13
percent or 981 km2 of the total area covered by the hexagons
where evidence of breeding
was found for this species
(7699 km2).
Related Species
Family:
pigeon