Purple Quail-Dove

The purple quail-dove is 22 to 26 cm (8.7 to 10.2 in) long and weighs about 155 g (5.5 oz). The adult male has reddish-brown upperparts with a purplish wash, rich reddish purple wing coverts, and bright ultramarine back and rump. The tail is blackish with white tips on the outer three feathers. The underparts are grayish white. The head has an intricate pattern of indigo crown and nape, mostly white face and throat, a blackish purple malar stripe, and iridescent golden green sides of the neck. The eyes are pale red surrounded by bare black skin. The adult female is duller than the male and the upperparts are a less rich red-brown. Juveniles are even duller, with a less distinct facial pattern, buffy markings on the upperparts, and no iridescence.

The purple quail-dove is found from northwestern Colombia south to northwestern Ecuador. It inhabits the ground and undergrowth of primary and older secondary evergreen montane forest. In Colombia it ranges from 200 to 1,100 m (660 to 3,610 ft) in elevation but only up to 700 m (2,300 ft) in Ecuador.

The purple quail-dove forages on the ground, singly or in pairs. Its diet has not been documented but it probably eats seeds and small invertebrates like other quail-doves.