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Black wood pigeon | |
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Black wood pigeon in Machilus thunbergii (Ulleung Sadong Black Pigeon Habitat) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Columbiformes |
Family: | Columbidae |
Genus: | Columba |
Species: | C. janthina |
Binomial name | |
Columba janthina Temminck, 1830 | |
The black wood pigeon or Japanese wood pigeon (Columba janthina) is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in East Asia along shorelines of the Pacific's Korea Strait, Philippine Sea and East China Sea. It is believed to be the largest representative of the genus, Columba , and has a weight of around 550 grams (1.2 lb) and an overall length of 43 cm (17 in). Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. The species is in decline owing to habitat loss, habitat degradation, deforestation and hunting. This wood pigeon is endemic to the laurel forest habitat.
The black wood pigeon is the largest pigeon in the East Asia region, with a length of between 37 cm to 40 cm long and sometimes 43.5 cm. The head is small. There is at least three subspecies of Columba janthina, with some plumage differences.
It is very dark in appearance, with a small head, a longish neck and tail. Overall the body is soot-black with iridescent green or purple on crown, shoulders and sides of neck. The irises are brown and have red color legs, having a rather long tail. Whole body is covered with shiny black feathers. Its inconspicuous plumage is mainly black with the crown and rump bright metallic purple. The back and chest have green purple metallic sheen.
The bill is longish, narrow and dark. The beak is greenish blue. Tip of the beak is ivory to pale yellow. Fleshy covering on the beak (cere) is small.
This species has no sexual dimorphism, the sexes are similar in appearance, but the juvenile has generally paler plumage, with limited or no development of the pale yellow neck patch. Tarsi are red in adults while paler in juveniles. Appears like a crow in flight, with large wings and slightly fanned tail.
The black wood pigeon lives in small islands of the East China Sea, mainly in the Ryukyu Islands, Iwo Jima and Bonin Islands and also along the southern coasts of Korea and Japan. [4] While more abundant and with a greater range in the past, it is still thought to be resident on 15 islands and islets.
It occurs locally on small islands off the south coast of South Korea, where it is found on, and breeds in Ulleungdo Island, Jeju-do and some areas off the south coast. It has been recorded as vagrant in eastern Russia, Shandong, mainland China and Taiwan.
It is an uncommon and local resident in Japan, on small islands off southern Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, south through the Nansei-Shoto islands in the Ryukyu Islands to the Yaeyama Islands and the Izu Islands to the Ogasawara and Iwo Islands. Distributed in Honshu region of Japan. Although it is still relatively common on the Izu Islands, it has apparently declined there since the 1950s, it was thought to have declined on Okinawa during the 1980s because of forestry activities. The subspecies Columba janthina nitens, which occurs on the Ogasawara and Iwo Islands, is very rare.
In South Korea, this pigeon is a natural monument (215, designated November 22, 1968) [5] South Korea also protects breeding sites (designated as Natural Monuments): Ulleung Sadong Black Pigeon Habitat (울릉 사동 흑비둘기 서식지) (natural monument 237, designated 14 December 1971), [6] and Jeju Sasudo Seabirds (Black Pigeon, Shearwater) Breeding Ground (제주 사수도 바닷새류(흑비둘기, 슴새) 번식지) (Natural monument 333, November 20, 1982), [7] and a provincial breeding site on Beomseom Island, [8] where it is part of the Munseom and Beomseom Nature Reserve. Potential visitors require permission from the Cultural Heritage Administration to visit Sasudo. [7]
It is a pigeon which is endemic to some islands of the Sea of Japan, Yellow Sea, and East China Sea. It is mainly an isolated island wood pigeon, a robust and confident forest bird with the same characteristics of other genus Columba pigeons adapted to habitat and vegetation of island laurel forest. Like some island races of common wood pigeon and some species of the Macaronesian or Pacific islands, wood pigeons have a low rate of reproduction.
Most of the wood pigeon's diet is vegetable, but Columba janthina is considered omnivorous. It eats worms and small snails—but with strong preference plants, leaves, flowers, drupes, berries, fruit, acorns, pine nuts and other conifer seeds, Kurogane mochi or (Ilex rotunda), mochi-no-ki (Ilex Integra), Sazanqua Camellia sasanqua, Tsubaki Camellia japonica, mulberry tree, ficus, Machilus thunbergii, Nandinia domestica... This bird eats seeds varied, buds and fruit it collects directly from the trees. It has a preference for trees near ponds and rivers.
A resident breeder in laurisilva forests, the wood pigeon lays one white egg in a flimsy twig nest. The nest is located in a tree cavity or in the rocks. It lays eggs in September.
The black wood pigeon lives in dense subtropical forests. It also lives in beaches and islands in the evergreen broadleaf forest. It inhabits dense subtropical forest and warm temperate evergreen broadleaf forests, and is heavily dependent on mature forests, eating the berries of the trees and ultimately dispersing their seeds. It also eats leaves and (flower?) buds, especially nitrogen rich foliage during breeding. The diet changes seasonally as the availability of fruit changes, and leaves can comprise the major part of the diet at certain times of the year, particularly when there is little fruit around. One of their favourite leaves to eat is from genus Prunus , young shoots from Asteraceae, Caryophyllaceae, and cruciferous, rounded and fleshy leaves of ilex. They play an important ecological role, as they are the only birds capable of eating the largest native fruits and drupes from some native trees. Its numbers fell sharply after human colonisation of the archipelagos, and it vanished altogether from some Islands. The major cause of its population decline was habitat loss from forest clearance, but hunting and nest predation by introduced species and rats were also contributory factors. Protection of the laurel forests and a ban on hunting could enable numbers to increase, although this species is still endangered.
Columba janthina is a wood pigeon that often uses Camellia japonica for nesting and feeding but also used the Machilus thunbergii forests of Korea. For that reason, the distribution of the Machilus thunbergii and the Japanese wood pigeon are closely related and the preservation of Machilus thunbergii is directly connected with protection of Japanese wood pigeon. Environment of Japanese wood pigeon is in silver magnolia of seaside to eat fruits of a silver magnolia between the late July and the late August.
The common wood pigeon, also known as simply wood pigeon, is a large species in the dove and pigeon family (Columbidae), native to the western Palearctic. It belongs to the genus Columba, which includes closely related species such as the rock dove. It has a flexible diet, predominantly feeding on vegetable matter, including cereal crops, leading to them being regarded as an agricultural pest. Wood pigeons are extensively hunted over large parts of their range, but this does not seem to have a great impact on their population.
The Sri Lankan wood pigeon or Ceylon wood pigeon is a pigeon which is an endemic resident breeding bird in the mountains of Sri Lanka.
The trocaz pigeon, Madeira laurel pigeon or long-toed pigeon is a pigeon which is endemic to the island of Madeira, Portugal. It is a mainly grey bird with a pinkish breast; its silvery neck patch and lack of white wing markings distinguish it from its close relative and probable ancestor, the common wood pigeon. Its call is a characteristic six-note cooing, weaker and lower-pitched than that of the wood pigeon. Despite its bulky, long-tailed appearance, this pigeon has a fast, direct flight.
Bolle's pigeon, Bolle's laurel pigeon or dark-tailed laurel pigeon is a species of the genus Columba of family Columbidae, doves and pigeons, endemic to the Canary Islands, Spain. This bird is named after the German naturalist Carl Bolle, who was the first to distinguish it from the laurel pigeon. This wood pigeon is endemic to the laurel forest habitat.
The laurel pigeon or white-tailed laurel pigeon is a species of bird in the Columba genus in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the Canary Islands, Spain, and resides in laurel forest habitat. It is the animal symbol of the island of La Gomera.
Hahajima, Haha Jima, or Haha-jima is the second-largest island within the Bonin or Ogasawara Islands SSE of the Japanese Home Islands. The steeply-sloped island, which is about 21 km2 (8 sq mi) in area, has a population of 440. It is part of Ogasawara Village in Ogasawara Subprefecture, which is approximately 1,000 km (620 mi) south of Tokyo, Japan.
Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elongated leaves, known as "laurophyll" or "lauroid". Plants from the laurel family (Lauraceae) may or may not be present, depending on the location.
The Nilgiri wood pigeon is large pigeon found in the moist deciduous forests and sholas of the Western Ghats in southwestern India. They are mainly frugivorous and forage in the canopy of dense hill forests. They are best identified in the field by their large size, dark colours and the distinctive checkerboard pattern on their nape.
The Ogasawara subtropical moist forests is a terrestrial ecoregion which encompasses the Ogasawara Archipelago of Japan. The Ogasawara Archipelago lies in the Pacific Ocean south of Honshu, Japan's largest island, and north of the Marianas Islands. The ecoregion includes the Bonin Islands and Volcano Islands chains. The islands are volcanic in origin, and have never been linked to a continent. They are home to distinct plants and animals including many endemic species.
The Nansei Islands subtropical evergreen forests is a terrestrial ecoregion of the Ryukyu Islands, also known as the Nansei Islands, in Japan. The Nansei Islands are an island arc that stretches southwest from Kyushu towards Taiwan. The larger islands are mostly volcanic islands and the smaller ones mostly coral. The largest is Okinawa Island. The highest point is Mount Miyanoura on Yakushima Island at 1,936 metres.
The pink pigeon is a species of pigeon in the family Columbidae endemic to Mauritius. The pink pigeon nearly became extinct in the 1970s and the 1990s and is still very rare. It is the only Mascarene pigeon that has not become extinct. It was on the brink of extinction in 1991 when only 10 individuals remained, but its numbers have increased due to the efforts of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust since 1977. While the population remains at below 500 birds as of 2011, the IUCN downlisted the species from Critically endangered to Endangered on the IUCN Red List in 2000, and then downlisted it again to Vulnerable in 2018.
The white-headed pigeon is a pigeon native to the east coast of Australia.
The speckled wood pigeon, also known as Hodgson's pigeon or Jungle pigeon, is a medium-sized pigeon of the bird family Columbidae and genus Columba. It is a monotypic species. It measures 38-40 cm in length, with males featuring a pale gray head and females having a grayish-brown head. Males have a distinctive pinkish-silver breast speckled with black spots and a maroon belly, while females exhibit less vibrant coloration. Both sexes have blackish-brown tails and primaries, iris color differs slightly. The species is distributed across the Himalayas extending from Kashmir to western and central China, as well as parts of India, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, and Afghanistan. Inhabiting evergreen and semi-evergreen hill forests at elevations of 1,800-4,000 meters, descend in winter based on food availability. Diet consists mainly of acrons, berries, and fruits, typically foraging in small flocks. Breeding occurs from May to August, with nests situated 3-8 meters above ground.
The fairy pitta is a small and brightly colored species of passerine bird in the family Pittidae. Its diet mainly consists of earthworms, spiders, insects, slugs, and snails. The fairy pitta breeds in East Asia and migrates south to winter in Southeast Asia. Due to various habitat and anthropogenic disruptions, such as deforestation, wildfire, hunting, trapping, and cage-bird trade, the fairy pitta is rare and the population is declining in most places. Listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II, this bird is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The Taiheiyo evergreen forests is a temperate broadleaf forest ecoregion of Japan.
The Azores wood pigeon, Columba palumbus azorica is an endemic subspecies of the common wood pigeon, located in the Atlantic Azores islands of Portugal. This endemic subspecies is the only live pigeon present in the laurel forest habitat of the Azores Islands.
The wildlife of South Korea includes 8,271 plant species, 18,117 animal species and 3,528 species of fungi and others. 30,000 species are known to inhabit South Korea, among an estimated 100,000+ in all.
As a public arboretum operated by South Jeolla Province and located in Daemun-ri, Gunoe-myeon, Wando County, it is South Korea's only arboretum with an area of 2,050ha in the warm temperate zone and the country's largest natural habitat for warm temperate forest.
The Bonin greenfinch, also known as the Ogasawara greenfinch, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae that is endemic to the Ogasawara Islands of Japan, where it is found on the Bonin Islands and Volcano Islands. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the grey-capped greenfinch and some authorities consider it as such, but a 2020 analysis found it likely to represent a distinct species that diverged from C. sinica about 1.06 million years ago, and the International Ornithological Congress now recognizes it as such, making it the eleventh endemic species in Japan. There are fewer than 400 individuals in the population and it is considered critically endangered by the Japanese government, necessitating protection. According to the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology, as of December 2021, the Ogaswara greenfinch is Japan's most endangered bird.
Machilus thunbergii, the Japanese bay tree, red machilus, or tabunoki, is a widespread species of flowering plant in the family Lauraceae. It is native to Vietnam, Taiwan, southeast and north-central China, the Korean Peninsula, and Japan. A sturdy evergreen tree, usually 10–15 m (30–50 ft) tall, and reaching 20 m (70 ft), it is used for timber, and as a street tree. Its bark is the source of makko, a powder used to make a mosquito‑repelling incense. It prefers coastal areas, and can handle saline soil.