Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon Treron sphenurus 楔尾綠鳩
Category I. Accidental.
IDENTIFICATION
Mar. 2016, Michelle and Peter Wong.
30-33 cm. Similar to White-bellied Green Pigeon but distinguished by its pale cinnamon undertail coverts and broad-based wedge-shaped tail. Males have a yellow forehead, and a coppery-gold crown and breast.
Mar. 2016, Michelle and Peter Wong.
The male also has chestnut in the scapulars and the wing coverts. That there are relatively few of these on this bird indicate it was in its first winter.
VOCALISATIONS
Not heard to vocalise in HK.
DISTRIBUTION & HABITAT PREFERENCE
Recorded at Pak Sha O, Sai Kung, where it occurred in woodland at the edge of the village.
OCCURRENCE
The sole record was of a first-winter male during 6-9 March 2016 (Carey 2018).
BEHAVIOUR, FORAGING & DIET
The Pak Sha O individual remained within foliage in the upper canopy of a moderately large tree for long periods, but occasionally perched in the open on a nearby bare branch.
RANGE & SYSTEMATICS
Polytypic, with five subspecies recognised. Widely distributed from the western Himalayas east to southwest China and south through Indochina through parts of Peninsula Malaysia to Sumatra, Java, Bali and Lombok (Baptista et al. 1997). In China, the nominate subspecies occurs from southern Tibet through Yunnan to Sichuan and southwest Guangxi (Liu and Chen 2020).
CONSERVATION STATUS
IUCN: Least Concern. Population trend stable.
Baptista, L.F., Trail, P.W. and Horblit, H.M. (1997). Family Columbidae (Pigeons and Doves). Pp. 60-243 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliot, A. and J. Sargatal. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 4: Sandgrouse to Cuckoos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
Carey, G. J. (2018). Wedge-billed Green Pigeon Treron sphenurus at Pak Sha O: the first Hong Kong record. Hong Kong Bird Report 2016: 232-235.
Liu, Y. and Y. H. Chen (eds) (2020). The CNG Field Guide to the Birds of China (in Chinese). Hunan Science and Technology Publication House, Changsha.
