Pale-vented Pigeon

How to find it

Look in the open edges of forest, along riverbanks and in partly open areas with some tree cover. Scan tall isolated trees in pastures and coconut palms near the coast. Watch the sky over open country too, since birds are often seen flying away from forest. Listen as well as look: guides on a Deep South tour found these pigeons by ear as well as by sight. On that tour they were fairly common once the group dropped into the lowlands around Ciudad Neily and Esquinas. On a northern lowland tour they were reported as not uncommon in lowland areas.

How to recognise it

This is a large pigeon of about 30 cm. Look for these marks:

Pale undertail coverts, clearly visible and unique among large tree pigeons here.

A reddish-purple back on the adult male, contrasting with a slate-grey head.

A whitish throat and a bronzy iridescent nape.

A red eye, a black bill and cere, and magenta legs.

Females look duller than males. Young birds are mostly dull greyish-brown, so a plainer bird in the same trees may simply be a youngster.

What it sounds like

Recording: Pablo H Capovilla, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

The Pale-vented Pigeon is usually solitary or found in small flocks. After breeding, groups of 12 or more birds can form. It eats berries of trees and shrubs such as Trema and melastomes.

Its flight is high, fast and direct, with regular wingbeats and occasional sharp flicks of the wings. Birds are often seen flying over open country away from forest, so a pigeon crossing a pasture is worth a second look.

Where it lives

This pigeon avoids very dense forest. Instead it uses forest edges, tall isolated trees in pastures, secondary growth, coconut palms, mangroves and river edges. It lives alone or in small groups in the humid lowlands of both coasts, up to about 600 m elevation.

In Costa Rica that means the Caribbean slope and the south and central Pacific. A recording was made at Bahía Drake, Puntarenas, at about 40 m, and the Caribbean-lowland form has been photographed in rainforest near La Unión de Guápiles, Limón Province, at about 204 m.

When to see it

Breeding in Costa Rica runs from February to June. Each nest holds a single egg, placed 1 to 5 m up in a shrub, small tree or palm.

Similar birds

The Scaled Pigeon is similar in size and shape, and both are often seen flying in the open. Up close, the Pale-vented lacks the scaly pattern, and the calls differ. The Red-billed Pigeon (Paloma Piquirroja) has a pale bill and a less constant pattern, while this species has a black bill and a clearly pale vent.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Rican sources list several common names: Morada, Torcaza and Paloma Colorada. The AOCR list gives Paloma Colorada, with Paloma Morada in brackets. Other Spanish names are paloma guarumera and paloma de vientre claro.

Status and conservation

It is a resident species on the AOCR list (R) and is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

Photography tips

Tall isolated trees in pastures are good places to look for a bird perched in clear view. At feeders, birds were obliging and easy to study, and scope views worked well for birds perched in trees over a pond.