Pigeons and Doves (Columbidae)
African Green-pigeon (Treron calva) - HBW 4, p. 201
French: Colombar à front nu
German: Rotnasen-Grüntaube
Spanish: Vinago Africano
Other common names: Green/African Fruit-pigeon
Taxonomy: Columba Calva Temminck, 1808, Loango.
With the exception of the more distinct T. waalia, the green-pigeons of African mainland and islands form a closely related group, within which species limits have been much debated. Present species of mainland Africa has often been considered conspecific with T. australis of Madagascar; however, based on differences in cere colour and on geographical separation of forms, it seems most appropriate to consider present species as forming a superspecies with T. australis, T. pembaensis and T. sanctithomae. Race delalandii has sometimes been considered a .. View all taxonomy...
With the exception of the more distinct T. waalia, the green-pigeons of African mainland and islands form a closely related group, within which species limits have been much debated. Present species of mainland Africa has often been considered conspecific with T. australis of Madagascar; however, based on differences in cere colour and on geographical separation of forms, it seems most appropriate to consider present species as forming a superspecies with T. australis, T. pembaensis and T. sanctithomae. Race delalandii has sometimes been considered a separate species, but intergrades with other races occur. Present species rather variable; further study will probably reduce the number of valid races. Seventeen subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- nudirostris (Swainson, 1837) - Senegal, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau.
- sharpei (Reichenow, 1902) - Sierra Leone to S Nigeria and N Cameroon.
- calva (Temminck, 1808) - E Nigeria (R Cross) E to NE Zaire (Ituri region) and S to C Angola; Príncipe I.
- nudirostris (Swainson, 1837) - Senegal, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau.
- sharpei (Reichenow, 1902) - Sierra Leone to S Nigeria and N Cameroon.
- calva (Temminck, 1808) - E Nigeria (R Cross) E to NE Zaire (Ituri region) and S to C Angola; Príncipe I.
- poensis Hartert & Goodson, 1918 - Bioco (Fernando Póo).
- uellensis (Reichenow, 1912) - N Zaire (R Uelle) E to S Sudan and Uganda.
- brevicera Hartert & Goodson, 1918 - SW Ethiopia S to N Tanzania, E of Rift Valley (except coastal regions).
- salvadorii (Dubois, 1897) - Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi S to E Zaire.
- granviki Grote, 1924 - W Kenya and NW Tanzania.
- wakefieldii (Sharpe, 1874) - coastal regions of Kenya and NW Tanzania, including Usambara Mts.
- granti van Someren, 1919 - lowland E Tanzania and Zanzibar.
- orientalis (Gunning & Roberts, 1911) - S Tanzania, Mozambique and lower Zambezi Valley.
- schalowi Reichenow, 1880 - S Zaire (Katanga) and Zambia S to region of Victoria Falls.
- chobiensis (Roberts, 1932) - SW Zimbabwe and N Botswana.
- ansorgei Hartert & Goodson, 1918 - S Angola.
- vylderi Gyldenstolpe, 1924 - NW Namibia.
- damarensis (Reichenow, 1901) - NE Namibia and NW Botswana.
- delalandii Bonaparte, 1854 - coast from Kenya (Mombasa) to South Africa (E Cape Province).
- Least Concern
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