Purple-winged Ground Dove Paraclaravis geoffroyi Scientific name definitions

This bamboo-dependent, forest-based, ground-dove is now considered to be Critically Endangered, and sightings anywhere within its range are unquestionably now extremely rare. There are virtually no documented records within the last two decades, and very few published reports of any description. The species is confined to southeastern South America, from eastern Brazil, at least formerly as far north as Bahia, south to northeastern Argentina, and eastern Paraguay. The Purple-winged Ground-Dove most closely recalls the much commoner and more widespread Blue Ground-Dove (Claravis pretiosa). Males are slate-blue above, with a whitish face and belly, two or three dark purple bands on the wing, dark red legs, and a blackish bill, whilst females are matt brown with a paler belly and throat, less obvious wing bands, and dark brown legs. Long known by the scientific name Claravis godefrida, recent research has suggested that the correct specific name is geoffroyi.

19–23 cm. Male darkish blue-grey above, paler below; two broad bands of deep purple across folded wing; smaller band of bluish purple across lesser coverts; central tail feathers grey, four outermost ones white and the rest greyish white. Female brown overall with wingbands slightly paler than the male’s; central tail feathers brown, outer ones black with broad buff tips; bill blackish, legs dark yellowish brown. Juvenile female paler than adult, feathers with dusky subterminal areas and buff fringes; juvenile male darker than juvenile female.

Fragmented range in SE Brazil (S Bahia S to S Santa Catarina), E Paraguay and NE Argentina (Misiones).

No known recordings of its voice, but described as similar to that of C. pretiosa, but characterized as being double- rather than single-noted, thus “oo-OOT...” as opposed to “oo...” (4 Sick, H. (1993). Birds in Brazil: A Natural History. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ).

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED. Protected under Brazilian law since 1973. On the basis of known records, population thought to be fewer than 250 mature individuals BirdLife International (2016) Species factsheet: Claravis geoffroyi. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 25/08/2016. . Lack of recent records, and small size (> 5 individuals) of groups sighted, suggest that population has declined significantly. Once common on coast of SE Brazil where flocks of 50–100 birds were sometimes seen, and formerly frequent in captivity, e.g. common in Rio de Janeiro market in late 19th century, and several 100s were apparently imported into France and other parts of Europe in c. late 1930s. Now in serious decline, principally due to deforestation; despite suggestion by some authors that the species remains locally common, there are just a handful of records since 1980s, with only two of these involving multiple occurrences (both in Feb 1997) (5 Naka, L. N., J. Mazar Barnett, G. M. Kirwan, J. A. Tobias, and M. A. G. de Azevedo (2000) New and noteworthy bird records from Santa Catarina state, Brazil. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 120:237–250. Close ); in this period, it has been recorded from just one site in Argentina, one in Paraguay (Dec 1994) and seven in Brazil. Range now highly fragmented; this coupled with specialised habitat requirements make the species vulnerable to extinction BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Claravis geoffroyi. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 04/02/2015. . Extensive targeted searches during Guadua chacoensis masting in Argentina in 2007 produced just two records (6 Areta, J.I., Bodrati, A. and Cockle, K. (2009). Specialization on guadua bamboo seeds by three bird species in the Atlantic forest of Argentina. Biotropica 41: 66–73. Close ). Found in a number of protected areas in Brazil, including the Floresta Estadual do Palmito (Paraná), the Augusto Ruschi Biological Reserve (Espirito Santo), and several sites in the Serra do Mar; also reported from Iguazú National Park, Argentina BirdLife International (2016) Species factsheet: Claravis geoffroyi. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 25/08/2016. . Research and survey work urgently needed in order to establish basic details of biology and ecology, as well as conservation requirements; precise limits of range remain to be determined. Considered Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) at the national level in Brazil (7 MMA (2014). Lista Nacional Oficial de Espécies da Fauna Ameaçadas de Extinção. Portaria No 444, de 17 de dezembro de 2014. Diário Oficial da União - Seção 1. Nº 245, quinta-feira, 18 de dezembro de 2014. Close ).