Short Communications

Observation of a Nilgiri Wood Pigeon (Columba elphinstonii) feeding on boiled peanuts at Doddabetta Peak, The Nilgiris, India

Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Published: 20 October 2025
201
Views
63
Downloads

Authors

In this study, we report the observation of the Nilgiri Wood Pigeon (Columba elphinstonii) feeding on boiled peanuts scattered on the ground at Doddabetta Peak. This behavior was first noted incidentally and was subsequently monitored over the course of a week. During this period, the species was consistently observed feeding on peanuts in the evening. Notably, these observations were made during the breeding season of the Nilgiri Wood Pigeon, suggesting adaptive foraging in response to local ecological pressures, fluctuating resource availability, and the nutritional demands of breeding.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Ali S. & Ripley S. D., 1982 – Handbook of birds of India and Pakistan. Vol. III: stone curlews to owls. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Baker E. C. S., 1913 – Indian pigeons and doves. London: Witherby and Co.
Baker E. C. S., 1932-1935 – The nidification of birds of the British Empire. 4 vols. London: Taylor and Francis.
Blanford W. T., 1898 – The fauna of British India: including ceylon and burma. Vol. IV. London: Taylor and Francis.
Burt S. A., Vos C. J., Buijs J. A. & Corbee R. J., 2021 – Nutritional implications of feeding free-living birds in public urban areas. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, 105:385-93.
Fischer J. D. & Miller J. R., 2015 – Direct and indirect effects of anthropologic bird food on population dynamics of a songbird. Acta Oecologica, 69: 46-51.
Gaffard A., Pays O., Monceau K., Teixeira M., Bretagnolle V. & Moreau J., 2022 – Feeding on grains containing pesticide residues is detrimental to offspring development through parental effects in grey partridge. Environmental Pollution, 312: 120005.
Goodwin D., 1967 – Pigeons and doves of the world. London: British Museum (Natural History).
Hume A. O. & Oates E. W., 1890 – Nests and eggs of Indian birds. 2nd ed. London: R. H. Porter.
Karthikeyan S., 2000 – Circumstantial evidence of breeding of the Nilgiri Wood Pigeon Columba elphinstonii (Sykes) at Nandi Hills, near Bangalore. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, 97: 429-430.
Koparde P., Mhaskar M., Mhaske P. & Patwardhan A., 2015 – Spatial distribution and habitat correlates of Nilgiri Wood-Pigeon (Columba elphinstonii) in North Western Ghats, India. Taprobanica, 7: 20-28.
Morgan R. W., 1875 – On the nidification of certain south-Indian birds. Ibis, 5: 313-323.
Pennycott T. W., Cindery R. N., Park A., Mather H. A., Foster G. & Grant D., 2007 – Further monitoring for Salmonella species and Escherichia coli O86 at a bird table in south-west Scotland. Veterinary Record, 157: 477-480.
Rasmussen P. C. & Anderton J. C., 2012 – Birds of South Asia. The Ripley guide. Vols. I and II. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Editions.
Somasundaram S. & Vijayan L., 2010 – Foraging ecology of the globally threatened Nilgiri Wood Pigeon (Columba elphinstonii) in the Western Ghats, India. Chinese Birds, 1: 9-21.
Somasundaram S. & Vijayan L., 2011 – Soil feeding behaviour of globally threatened Nilgiri Woodpigeon Columba elphinstonii in the Western Ghats, South India. Podoces, 6: 92-94.
Stiling P., 2012 – Ecology: global insights & investigations. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Subramanya S., 2005 – Nesting of Nilgiri Wood-Pigeon Columba elphinstonii at Nandi Hills, Karnataka, India. Indian Birds, 1: 36.

How to Cite



Observation of a Nilgiri Wood Pigeon (Columba elphinstonii) feeding on boiled peanuts at Doddabetta Peak, The Nilgiris, India. (2025). Rivista Italiana Di Ornitologia, 95(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/rio.2025.904