Little Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia ruficeps)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Little Cuckoo-Dove

Macropygia ruficeps (Temminck, 1835)

27–30 cmLength82 gWeight

It is a small reddish-brown dove with a long trailing tail.

Busiest months: July–August · Most records: Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Long tail
  2. Feathers cinnamon yellowish-brown
  3. Bill brown, with black tip
  4. Legs and feet coral-red

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: July–August · Most records: Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand

Little Cuckoo-Dove has been recorded at 114 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 7 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

To protect this bird from disturbance, we don't list exact sites.

Countries and regions with the most records

MalaysiaIndonesiaThailandChinaTimor-LesteMyanmar (Burma)Brunei

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The little cuckoo-dove (Macropygia ruficeps) is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is a reddish brown pigeon, and is found in Brunei, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is listed as a species of least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Endangered Species.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Little Cuckoo-Dove?

The Little Cuckoo-Dove is about 27–30 cm long and weighs around 82 g.

Where does the Little Cuckoo-Dove live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: widespread, also Lesser Sundas. It is most often recorded in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

When is the best time to see the Little Cuckoo-Dove?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in July and August (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Little Cuckoo-Dove endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Little Cuckoo-Dove as Least Concern.

What does the Little Cuckoo-Dove eat?

Main food: Omnivore.

What family is the Little Cuckoo-Dove in?

It belongs to the family Pigeons, Doves (Columbidae), order Columbiformes.

At a glance

Length
27–30 cm
Weight
82 g
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Omnivore
Lifestyle
Varied
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
141 mm
Tail
151 mm
Bill
17 mm
Tarsus
19 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Oriental: widespread, also Lesser Sundas

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 1
  • Macropygia ruficeps assimilis s Myanmar to nw Thailand and sw China

Classification

Family
Pigeons, Doves Columbidae
Genus
Macropygia

Other birds in the genus Macropygia

Barred Cuckoo-DoveBarred Cuckoo-DoveMacropygia unchallAmboyna Cuckoo-DoveAmboyna Cuckoo-DoveMacropygia amboinensisSultan's Cuckoo-DoveSultan's Cuckoo-DoveMacropygia doreyaRuddy Cuckoo-DoveRuddy Cuckoo-DoveMacropygia emilianaEnggano Cuckoo-DoveEnggano Cuckoo-DoveMacropygia cinnamomeaBarusan Cuckoo-DoveBarusan Cuckoo-DoveMacropygia modiglianiiTimor Cuckoo-DoveTimor Cuckoo-DoveMacropygia magnaTanimbar Cuckoo-DoveTanimbar Cuckoo-DoveMacropygia timorlaoensisFlores Sea Cuckoo-DoveFlores Sea Cuckoo-DoveMacropygia macassariensisPhilippine Cuckoo-DovePhilippine Cuckoo-DoveMacropygia tenuirostrisBrown Cuckoo-DoveBrown Cuckoo-DoveMacropygia phasianellaAndaman Cuckoo-DoveAndaman Cuckoo-DoveMacropygia rufipennis
Little Cuckoo-Dove

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from reference photos. ↗

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