Systematics

A variable number of subspecies are recognized:

pallidicrissa, described as Columba pallidicrissa (Chubb 1910); type locality Costa Rica

Occurs from Mexico south to northern Colombia.

This subspecies "may be distinguished from the nominate race by the very pale, often almost whitish gray lower belly and under tail coverts, and the nearly uniform brownish gray tail" (Hellmayr and Conover 1942: 453). Includes tamboensis Conover 1938 of northern Colombia, which was recognized by Hellmayr and Conover 1942 and Dickinson and Remsen (2013).

occidentalis, described as Columba rufina occidentalis Sztolcmann 1926; type locality Yaguachi, western Ecuador [province of Guayas]

Occurs in western Ecuador.

"Closely resembles C. c. pallidicrissa in the nearly uniform brownish gray tail, but the lower abdomen and under tail coverts are darker gray (more like typical rufina [nominate cayennensis], and the forehead is rather darker vinaceous" (Hellmayr and Conover 1942: 457).

andersoni, described as Columba rufina andersoni (Cory 1915); type locality Serra da Lua, near Boa Vista, northern Brazil

Occurs from southeastern Colombia and eastern Ecuador east, north of the Amazon, to southern Venezuela and northern Brazil.

This subspecies was not recognized by Hellmayr and Conover (1942), who treated it as a synonym of nominate cayennensis.

tobagensis, described as Columba rufina tobagensis (Cory 1915); type locality Island of Tobago.

Occurs on Trinidad and Tobago.

This subspecies was not recognized by Hellmayr and Conover (1942), who treated it as a synonym of pallidicrissa.

cayennensis, described as Columba cayennensis (Bonnaterre 1792); type locality Cayenne

Occurs in the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana).

sylvestris, described as Columba sylvestris (Vieillot 1818); type locality Paraguay

Occurs from eastern Peru and Brazil, south of the Amazon, south to Paraguay, northern Argentina and Uruguay.

Similar to nominate cayennensis, but "pattern of banding on tail more marked", with paler tips to rectrices and an indistinct black subterminal band (Baptista et al. 1997).

Johnson and Clayton (2000) and Johnson et al. (2001), based on phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequence data from both mitochondrial and nuclear genes, demonstrated that the traditional concept of a widespread genus Columba is not a monophyletic assemblage: Old World species of Columba are more closely related to another Old World genus, Streptopelia doves, than to New World species formerly classified in the genus Columba. Consequently the New World species, including cayennensis, now are classified in the genus Patagioenas.

The affinities of cayennensis within Patagioenas have not been established.