Pompadour Green Pigeon

The Pompadour Green Pigeon, also known as Grey-fronted Green Pigeon, is a pigeon which is a widespread, resident breeding bird in tropical southern Asia from India, Sri Lanka east to the Philippines. 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. There are a number of subspecies with mostly minor size and plumage differences. The sub-species affinis of peninsular India has been raised to a full species Treron affinis by Rasmussen and Anderton (2005).

This is a common species in rainforest and similar dense wet woodlands. It builds a stick nest in a tree and lays two white eggs. Its flight is fast and direct, with the regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings that are characteristic of pigeons in general.

The Pompadour Green Pigeon is a stocky, medium-sized pigeon, 28 centimeters in length. The head, tail, and underparts are bright green, with a grey crown to the head. The legs are red, and the bill is thin and greyish. The flight feathers and tail are blackish.

The male has a chestnut back, usually uniform, but with a green patch in the large Andaman Islands race, and an orange patch on the breast (absent in the Sri Lankan form). The female has a bright green back and lacks the orange on the breast.

Pompadour Green Pigeons usually occur singly or in small groups. They eat the seeds and fruits of a wide variety of plants.