Columba iriditorques
The Western Bronze-naped Pigeon (Columba iriditorques) is a striking, medium-sized pigeon native to the dense lowland rainforests of West and Central Africa. Measuring approximately 28-30 cm in length, adults are predominantly dark, with a glossy, often purplish-black or slaty-grey plumage that can appear rather somber at first glance. Its most distinctive feature, and the origin of its name, is a brilliant iridescent bronze-green to purplish-bronze patch on the nape and hindneck, which shimm...
Found primarily in dense lowland rainforests, forest edges, and secondary growth, this species also inhabits gallery forests and can be found at elevations up to 1,600 meters, though most commonly below 1,000 meters.
Strictly frugivorous, its diet consists predominantly of a wide variety of fruits, berries, and some seeds, with a particular fondness for figs and oil palm fruits, which it forages for in the forest canopy.
The Western Bronze-naped Pigeon is a secretive and often solitary, arboreal species, spending most of its time high in the forest canopy. It is diurnal, primarily foraging in the early morning and late afternoon. Its foraging strategy involves plucking fruits directly from tree branches, often re...
The Western Bronze-naped Pigeon is a resident species distributed across a broad swathe of West and Central Africa. Its range extends from Sierra Leone in the west, eastward through Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea, then south through Gabon, the...
Least Concern
- Its scientific epithet 'iriditorques' is derived from Latin, meaning 'rainbow collar,' a direct reference to its striking iridescent nape. - This species was once considered conspecific with the Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon (*Columba unicincta*), but they are now recognized as distinct species b...