Claravis (genus)

Claravis
Blue ground dove, Claravis pretiosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Columbiformes
Family:	Columbidae
Genus:	Claravis Oberholser, 1899
Species
Blue ground dove, Claravis pretiosa Purple-winged ground dove, Claravis geoffroyi Maroon-chested ground dove, Claravis mondetoura

Claravis is a genus that contains three species of doves that live in the Neotropics, with ranges in Middle America and South America. Claravis doves have red eyes and pink legs, and the plumages of the males are primarily light grey-blue, and the females are primarily brown. Both sexes have a series of distinctive spots or bands on the wings. They are fairly arboreal for ground doves. Claravis doves have a distinct fast and rocking flight pattern. They are found alone, in pairs or in small flocks in forests. The blue ground dove remains widespread and fairly common, but the purple-winged and maroon-chested ground doves are generally local and rare, and appears to be associated with flowering bamboo.

Species

• Blue ground dove, Claravis pretiosa
• Maroon-chested ground dove, Claravis mondetoura
• Purple-winged ground dove, Claravis geoffroyi

References

• BirdLife International www.birdlife.org
• Gibbs, David; Barnes, Eustace; Cox, John (2001). Pigeons and Doves: A Guide to the Pigeons and Doves of the World. Yale University Press. pp. 344–348. ISBN 0-300-07886-2.
• Howell, Steven N. G. & Webb, Sophie (1995): A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York. ISBN 0-19-854012-4