Stephan's Emerald Dove

25 cm

Stephan's Emerald Dove primarily forages on the ground for seeds, fallen fruit, likely insects, and grit. Occasionally feeds on seeds from digested fruits beneath Metallic Starling colonies. While sometimes found in shrubs, ground feeding is prevalent, typically alone or in small groups.

The stephan's Emerald Dove prefers a variety of forested environments. It is typically found in the humid interiors of evergreen forests as well as in dry, secondary coastal forests within broader tropical regions. While it adapts to forest edges and secondary growth in some areas, it primarily occupies the dense interiors. The species is also known to inhabit altered landscapes such as selectively logged forests, degraded woodlands, and in some regions, plantation areas interspersed with shrubbery. Ecologically, stephan's Emerald Dove tends to segregate from closely related species by habitat preference, ensuring minimal overlap by occupying distinct niches. This segregation occurs in both forest interiors and more open, secondary habitats depending on the region and the presence of other dove species.