The maroon-chested ground dove (Paraclaravis mondetoura) is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is native to the American Cordillera of Central and South America.
Taxonomy and systematics
The maroon-chested ground dove was originally placed in genus Claravis but a 2018 publication created the current genus Paraclaravis for it and the purple-winged ground dove (P. geoffroyi). The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) and Howard and Moore taxonomies treat it as monotypic. However, the Clements taxonomy and the Handbook of the Birds of the World ascribe these six subspecies to it:
P. m. ochoterena van Rossem (1934)
P. m. salvini Griscom (1930)
P. m. umbrina Griscom (1930)
P. m. pulchra Griscom (1930)
P. m. mondetoura Bonaparte (1856)
P. m. inca van Rossem (1934)
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Birds of the World account cautions that some of the subspecies were described from very small samples and may reflect individual, not subspecific, variation. It singles out P. m. inca as "doubtfully valid".
Description
Males of the maroon-chested ground dove are 18 to 24 cm (7.1 to 9.4 in) long and females
19 to 22 cm (7.5 to 8.7 in). Both sexes weigh between 89 and 95 g (3.1 and 3.4 oz). The adult male's forehead, face, and chin are grayish white. Its breast is dark purple changing to gray on the belly and vent. Its upperparts and wings are blue-gray, with the folded wing showing two broad dark bars. The central tail feathers are gray, the outermost white, and those between grayish white. Its orange eye is surrounded by bare yellow skin. The adult female is brown overall with a cinnamon face; the darker wing bars are not as distinct. The juvenile is similar to the adult female but redder. The putative subspecies differ slightly in their coloration.
Distribution and habitat
The maroon-chested ground dove is found discontinuously from southeastern Mexico to Peru and Bolivia. The subspecies are described as distributed thus:
