African Lemon Dove
Columba larvata
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderColumbiformes (Pigeons and Doves)
- FamilyColumbidae (Pigeons and Doves)
- GenusColumba (Typical Old World Pigeons)
- SpeciesColumba larvata (African Lemon Dove)
About the African Lemon Dove
The lemon dove or cinnamon dove (Aplopelia larvata) is a species of bird in the pigeon family Columbidae found in montane forests of sub-Saharan Africa. The lemon dove has a generally brownish-grey plumage with a cinnamon brown breast. Adults have a greenish-glossed neck and white markings on the head, and juveniles are rather more brown with pale feather fringe barring and have greyer facial markings. This dove is a common species, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The lemon dove was previously placed in the genus Columba, but it differs from the African pigeons of the genus Columba both genetically, in which it is closer to the genus Streptopelia, and by its more strongly terrestrial habits. The population on the island of São Tomé in the Gulf of Guinea, usually considered a subspecies, has been treated as a separate species A. simplex (São Tomé lemon dove; syn. C. simplex) by some authors.
Seven subspecies are recognised: A. l. inornata Reichenow, A, 1827 – Sierra Leone to Liberia, southeastern Nigeria, Cameroon, and Gabon; Bioko A. l. principalis (Hartlaub, KJG, 1866) – Príncipe... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of African Lemon Dove in Kibale National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Kibale National Park
Afep Pigeon
Columba unicincta
Western Bronze-naped Pigeon
Columba iriditorques
White-naped Pigeon
Columba albinucha
Rameron Pigeon
Columba arquatrix
Speckled Pigeon
Columba guinea
Red-eyed Dove
Streptopelia semitorquata
Tambourine Dove
Turtur tympanistria
Blue-spotted Wood-Dove
Turtur afer
African Green Pigeon
Treron calvus
Cape Turtle Dove
Streptopelia capicola
LADO
Spilopelia senegalensis
Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove
Turtur chalcospilos
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.