Christmas emerald dove | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Columbiformes |
Family: | Columbidae |
Genus: | Chalcophaps |
Species: | |
Subspecies: | C. i. natalis |
Trinomial name | |
Chalcophaps indica natalis Lister, 1889 | |
Synonyms | |
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The Christmas emerald dove (Chalcophaps indica natalis), also known as the Christmas green-winged pigeon, is a bird in the pigeon family, Columbidae. It is a distinctive subspecies of the common emerald dove that is endemic to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the eastern Indian Ocean.
The Christmas emerald dove is a small brownish pigeon with green wings. It is some 23–26 cm long, with a 43–46 cm wingspan and a weight of 80-135 g. It is smaller than the mainland Australian subspecies of the dove and differs from them by the adult male having a contrasting light grey cap, with a prominent white forehead, white supercilium extending behind the eye, and a mainly rufous-brown shoulder patch with only a narrow white line along the edge. The adult female has a darker, red-brown head, neck and underparts, lacking the grey and white on the head as well as the pale shoulder patch. [1] [2]
The dove is restricted to the 137 km2 Christmas Island where it is common in the tropical rainforest that covers 75% of the island, as well as other terrestrial habitats there, including regrowth forest and settled areas.
The doves are commonly seen in pairs, often on the ground or in low trees.
The dove breeds mainly between October and February, building a frail nest of twigs in tree or bush and laying a clutch of two glossy, cream-coloured eggs. [3] Incubation takes at least 17 days, with the chicks remaining in the nest for another 12 to 16 days after hatching. [4] .
The dove forages mainly on the ground, feeding on seeds and fallen fruits. [4]
In 1988 the population was estimated at about 1000 pairs. [5] Garnett & Crowley (2000) considered the dove, along with a suite of Christmas Island's other endemics, as critically endangered, with the principal threat coming from the yellow crazy ants which were accidentally introduced to the island. The threat is not only that of direct ant predation of nestlings, but also indirectly from potentially massive changes to the ecology of the island caused by the ants. [6] Under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 it is listed as endangered.
The common emerald dove, also called Asian emerald dove and grey-capped emerald dove, is a widespread resident breeding pigeon native to the tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The dove is also known by the names of green dove and green-winged pigeon. The common emerald dove is the state bird of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Pacific emerald dove and Stephan's emerald dove were both considered conspecific.
Threatened fauna of Australia are those species and subspecies of birds, fish, frogs, insects, mammals, molluscs, crustaceans and reptiles to be found in Australia that are in danger of becoming extinct. This list is the list proclaimed under the Australian federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The classifications are based on those used by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), however IUCN and Australian rankings do differ. Each state and territory has its own legislation relating to environmental protection.
Chalcophaps is a genus of small doves, commonly called emerald doves, that are found in Indomalaya and Australasia.
The white-headed pigeon is a pigeon native to the east coast of Australia.
The Christmas imperial pigeon, also known as Black imperial pigeon, Dusky imperial pigeon, Wharton's imperial pigeon, or burong pergam, is a large imperial pigeon endemic to Christmas Island in the northeastern Indian Ocean. It has an overall grey-blue colouration, and juveniles are duller than adults. It makes a soft purring coo sound and a deeper whoo sound comparable to a cow mooing. It lays one glossy white egg per brood, and is possibly somewhat colonial.
The Christmas boobook, also known more specifically as the Christmas Island hawk-owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae.
The Christmas Island shrew, also known as the Christmas Island musk-shrew is an extremely rare or possibly extinct shrew from Christmas Island. It was variously placed as subspecies of the Asian gray shrew or the Southeast Asian shrew, but morphological differences and the large distance between the species indicate that it is an entirely distinct species.
The Heard Island shag, or Heard Island cormorant, is a marine cormorant native to the Australian territory comprising the Heard and McDonald Islands in the Southern Ocean, about 4100 km south-west of Perth, Western Australia.
The Macquarie shag, Macquarie Island shag or Macquarie Island cormorant, is a marine cormorant native to Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean, about halfway between Australia and Antarctica.
The Christmas thrush is a subspecies of the island thrush. It is endemic to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean.
The Norfolk boobook, also known as the Norfolk Island boobook, Norfolk Island owl or Norfolk Island morepork, is a bird in the true owl family endemic to Norfolk Island, an Australian territory in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand. It is a subspecies of the morepork.
The Lord Howe currawong, Lord Howe Island currawong or Lord Howe pied currawong, is a large and mainly black passerine bird in the family Artamidae. It is endemic to Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea, part of New South Wales, Australia, and is a threatened subspecies of the pied currawong.
The Norfolk golden whistler, also known as the Norfolk Island whistler or Norfolk Island thickhead, and locally as the “tamey”, is a small bird in the whistler family, Pachycephalidae. It is a subspecies of the Australian golden whistler and endemic to Norfolk Island, an Australian territory in the Tasman Sea, between Australia and New Zealand.
The Norfolk robin, also known as the Norfolk Island scarlet robin or Norfolk Island robin, is a small bird in the Australasian robin family Petroicidae. It is endemic to Norfolk Island, an Australian territory in the Tasman Sea, between Australia and New Zealand.
The Christmas goshawk or Christmas Island goshawk, is a bird of prey in the goshawk and sparrowhawk family Accipitridae. It is a threatened endemic of Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the eastern Indian Ocean.
The Christmas Island swiftlet, also known as the Christmas glossy swiftlet or the Christmas cave swiftlet, is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae. It is endemic to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the eastern Indian Ocean. It was formerly commonly treated as a subspecies of the glossy swiftlet.
The black-backed bittern, also known as the black-backed least bittern or Australian little bittern, is a little-known species of heron in the family Ardeidae found in Australia and vagrant to southern New Guinea. Formerly lumped with the little bittern, it is one of the smallest herons in the world.
The Pacific emerald dove or brown-capped emerald dove is a pigeon which is a widespread resident breeding bird in the tropical and sub-tropical parts of Indonesia to northern and eastern Australia. It was formerly conspecific with the common emerald dove.
The Christmas Island flying fox or Christmas Island fruit bat, as the name suggests, is a flying fox endemic to Christmas Island. It is unclear if it should be considered a distinct species, or a subspecies of the black-eared flying fox. It may descend from a population of island flying foxes from Pulau Panjang near Java.