Nilgiri Wood-pigeon
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[Photo] Nilgiri Wood-pigeon (Columba elphinstonii). Photograph by Atanu Mondal.

The Nilgiri Woodpigeon (Columba elphinstonii) is a bird endemic to moist deciduous forests and sholas of the Western Ghats in southwestern India. They are identified in the field by the checkerboard pattern on their napes.

This pigeon species qualifies as vulnerable owing to its small, declining population, restricted range and widespread destruction of its forest habitat. A few relict populations survive on the high altitude hills of the peninsula outside the Western Ghats formation including the Biligirirangan Hills and Nandi Hills near Bangalore.

The binomial commemorates the Hon. Mountstuart Elphinstone (1779-1859).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilgiri_Wood-pigeon

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