The pompadour green pigeon (genus Treron) is a pigeon species complex. It is widespread in forests of southern and southeast Asia. Many authorities have split the pompadour green pigeon into multiple species, which are listed below:
Distribution and habitat
It is a widespread group in forests of tropical southern Asia from India, Sri Lanka east to the Philippines and the Moluccas. In India, they are found as disjunct populations in the Western Ghats, some parts of the Eastern Ghats, Northeastern India and in the Andaman Islands.
Taxonomy
The distribution of the pompadour green pigeon is peculiarly disjunct and several are distinctive, leading many authorities to split it into six species:
- Sri Lanka green pigeon (Treron pompadora) from Sri Lanka. Monotypic.
- Grey-fronted green pigeon (Treron affinis) from the Western Ghats in India. Monotypic.
- Andaman green pigeon (Treron chloropterus) from the Andamans and Nicobars. Monotypic.
- Ashy-headed green pigeon (Treron phayrei) from northeast India and Nepal, east to Yunnan in China, and south through Indochina (north of the Isthmus of Kra). Commonly considered monotypic, though some recognize the subspecies conoveri.
- Philippine green pigeon (Treron axillaris) from the Philippines. Includes the subspecies amadoni, canescens and everetti.
- Buru green pigeon (Treron aromaticus) from small islands in the Flores Sea and Buru, Indonesia. Monotypic.
Description
The pompadour green pigeon complex are all stocky, medium-sized pigeons, in length, with some significantly larger than others (e.g., chloropterus is significantly larger than birds from the Asian mainland). Furthermore, males of aromaticus and some members of the axillaris group have a grey band above the mantle.