Red-billed Pigeon Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesRed-billed Pigeon
A large pigeon with a mauve head and neck, grayish upperparts, and grayish wings with broad pinkish-purplish markings. The bill is two-toned—mostly pale yellow with a red base.
© Guillermo Saborío Vega / Macaulay LibrarySan José, August 05, 2020Pinkish throat and breast fade to light gray belly. Legs and feet are dark red.
© Luke Tiller / Macaulay LibraryTexas, February 07, 2019A large, tree-dwelling pigeon found in tropical deciduous forest. Head and neck are pinkish, upperparts are mostly grayish, and tail is slate gray. Bill is mostly pale yellow, with a red base.
© Juan Sanabria / Macaulay LibraryCartago, September 20, 2021Upperparts are dark gray to bluish gray. Tail is a uniform slate gray.
© fernando Burgalin Sequeria / Macaulay LibraryAlajuela, January 06, 2019Typically forages high in trees or shrubs, feeding mainly on berries, small fruits, acorns, and tree buds.
© Shelby Birch / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 26, 2016An arboreal species that comes to the ground largely to drink. Like other pigeons, this species is able to drink by sucking water, without raising its head.
© Josep del Hoyo / Macaulay LibraryCartago, October 08, 2022At northern edge of range in southern Texas, found almost exclusively along the Rio Grande.
© Tammy McQuade / Macaulay LibraryTexas, March 19, 2019Found in tropical deciduous forest, including gallery forest, forest patches and edges, and semiopen areas with scattered trees.
© Isaias Morataya / Macaulay LibraryCayo, April 23, 2018A tree-dwelling species; often perches in the crowns of trees and shrubs.
© Raul Delgado / Macaulay LibraryTexas, May 21, 2016Similar SpeciesShort-billed Pigeon
Short-billed Pigeon occurs in rainforest, while Red-billed Pigeon is a bird of drier deciduous forest. The smaller Short-billed Pigeon has a black bill, shorter tail, and is darker overall.
© Gaidis Grandāns / Macaulay LibraryHeredia, November 05, 2022Similar SpeciesBand-tailed Pigeon
Band-tailed Pigeon is lighter overall, with a white band and iridescent green patch on the hindneck, yellow bill with black tip, yellow feet, and broad gray band on the tip of the tail.
© Paul Fenwick / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, April 09, 2017Similar SpeciesPale-vented Pigeon
Pale-vented Pigeon has a mostly gray head, blackish bill, whitish lower belly and undertail coverts, and a brownish tail.
© Brian McGee / Macaulay LibraryLimón, March 10, 2020Compare with Similar Species
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Species in This Family
Pigeons and Doves(Order: Columbiformes, Family: Columbidae)
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