CreatureData

Pale-capped pigeon

Columba punicea Blyth, 1842

VUVulnerablebirdsExtinct

The pale-capped pigeon (Columba punicea) is a species in the family Columbidae, order Columbiformes. Recorded adults weigh 434.4 g to 440 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.

Pale-capped pigeon (Columba punicea)
Photo: Mike Prince · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the pale-capped pigeon

Weight
434.4 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Frugivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
1src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the pale-capped pigeon live?

Not recorded

What is the pale-capped pigeon?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The pale-capped pigeon (Columba punicea), also known as the purple wood pigeon, is a species of large pigeon that is found patchily distributed in parts of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has a slow flight and spends a lot of time sitting still in the foliage of large fruiting trees, often in riverine forest on the plains. It is mainly brown above and chestnut below with the a sheen of green or amethyst. Males have a whitish grey cap while females have a brownish grey cap and less gloss on the feathers. They are frugivores, foraging in small groups in the canopy of trees but sometimes descending to the ground for seeds and fallen fruit.

From the Wikipedia article “Pale-capped pigeon” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pale-capped_pigeon&oldid=1379246618), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the pale-capped pigeon endangered?

The pale-capped pigeon is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species. What the categories mean.

How is the pale-capped pigeon classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderColumbiformes
  5. familyColumbidae
  6. genusColumba
  7. SpeciesColumba punicea Blyth, 1842

Synonyms Alsocomus puniceus, Alsocomus puniceus

Other names and names in other languages (37)
  • Purple wood-pigeonEnglish
  • حمام شاحبة أبيض الرأسArabic
  • ধলাটুপি পায়রাBangla
  • colom de capell clarCatalan
  • holub purpurovýCzech
  • holub světlehlavýCzech
  • ysguthan gapan wenWelsh
  • BronzedueDanish
  • KupfertaubeGerman
  • palĉapa kolomboEsperanto
  • Paloma purpúreaSpanish
  • džunglituviEstonian
  • hopealakkikyyhkyFinnish
  • Pigeon marronFrench
  • svjetlokapi golubCroatian
  • rézszínű galambHungarian
  • Piccione capochiaroItalian
  • ムラサキモリバトJapanese
  • purpurinis karvelisLithuanian
  • Burung Pergam HajiMalay
  • BleekkapduifDutch
  • blekkronedueNorwegian
  • gołąb jasnogłowyPolish
  • جامنی جنگلی کبوترWestern Panjabi
  • pombo-púrpuraPortuguese
  • pombo-purpúreoPortuguese
  • Пурпурный вяхирьRussian
  • Пурпурный голубьRussian
  • holub čiapočkatýSlovak
  • Sivočeli šumski golubSerbian
  • purpurduvaSwedish
  • นกลุมพูแดงThai
  • Gümüş Tepeli GüvercinTurkish
  • голуб світлоголовийUkrainian
  • Bồ câu nâuVietnamese
  • 紫林鴿Chinese
  • 紫林鸽Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the pale-capped pigeon

Other species in the same genus Columba.

LC, Least Concern
Rock dove (Columba livia)

Rock dove

Columba livia

Columbidae

LC, Least Concern
Stock dove (Columba oenas)

Stock dove

Columba oenas

Columbidae

LC, Least Concern
Snow pigeon (Columba leuconota)

Snow pigeon

Columba leuconota

Columbidae

LC, Least Concern
Hill pigeon (Columba rupestris)

Hill pigeon

Columba rupestris

Columbidae

ComparePale-capped pigeon vs Rock dovePale-capped pigeon vs Common wood pigeonPale-capped pigeon vs Stock dovePale-capped pigeon vs Snow pigeon

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the pale-capped pigeon?

An adult pale-capped pigeon weighs 434.4 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the pale-capped pigeon endangered?

The pale-capped pigeon is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the pale-capped pigeon?

The pale-capped pigeon (Columba punicea) belongs to the family Columbidae in the order Columbiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Pale-capped pigeon (Columba punicea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/pale-capped-pigeon

MLA

“Pale-capped pigeon (Columba punicea).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/pale-capped-pigeon.

BibTeX
@misc{pale_capped_pigeon_2026,
  title = {Pale-capped pigeon (Columba punicea)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/pale-capped-pigeon},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}