Micronesian imperial pigeon

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Micronesian imperial pigeon
Ducula oceanica townsendi 39750206.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Columbiformes
Family: Columbidae
Genus: Ducula
Species:
D. oceanica
Binomial name
Ducula oceanica
(Desmarest, 1826)
Synonyms

Columba oceanica Desmarest, 1826

The Micronesian imperial pigeon (Ducula oceanica), also known as the Micronesian pigeon, [2] and Belochel [3] is a species of bird in the family Columbidae (doves). It is found in Palau, the Caroline Islands, the Marshall Islands and Nauru. Its habitats include montane forests, secondary forests, forests on beaches, and mangroves. It is threatened by hunting and deforestation, and the IUCN has assessed it as a near-threatened species.

Taxonomy

Illustration Carpophaga oceanica - 1825-1839 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica - Special Collections University of Amsterdam - UBA01 IZ15600103.tif
Illustration

The species was first described as Columba oceanica in 1826. The binomial authority was formerly considered to be Lesson & Garnot, but it is now given as Desmarest. [4] Five subspecies are recognized: D. o. monacha in Palau and Yap, D. o. teraokai on Chuuk, D. o. townsendi on Pohnpei, D. o. oceanica on Kosrae, and D. o. ratakensis in the Marshall Islands. [5]

Description

The Micronesian imperial pigeon is about 36 cm (14 in) long and weighs 340–406 g (12.0–14.3 oz). The head and neck are ashy grey. The back and wing coverts are dark green, reflecting dark blue. The flight feathers are blackish, with a green gloss. The breast is light grey, and the vent is dark rufous. The tail is blackish above and dark brown below. The beak is slaty black, and the cere is black. The eyes are reddish brown, and the feet are purplish red. The female and the juvenile birds are darker. The subspecies are distinguished by their size and the colour of their heads. [2] This species of bird makes many different types of calls, which can sound like barking, cooing, or moaning. [6] It can probably fly pretty well.

Distribution and habitat

The Micronesian imperial pigeon is found in the Marshall Islands, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae of Micronesia, Nauru, Kiribati and Palau. The populations on many of the Marshall Islands are probably extinct. On Pohnpei and Kosrae, it mostly lives in the mountains. In areas where it is not hunted, it is found in secondary forest, forest on beaches, and mangroves. [1] It also occurs in coconut plantations. [2]

The species also occurred once in the Mariana Islands, where Holocene subfossil remains are found. [7]

Behaviour

In flight Ducula oceanica townsendi 39750154 (cropped).jpg
In flight

This pigeon is mostly solitary, usually observed in the canopy. It eats fruits and fleshy seeds. Its calls include a deep-throated bark grrow-row-row-ow, a moan, and mellow coos. [2] Almost nothing is known about its breeding. [2] The breeding season is probably the entire year. [1]

Status

A 2005 survey in Palau found that, on Babeldaob and the Rock Islands, the species had declined but was still common. It was rare on Peleliu and was not recorded on Angaur. [8] A 2006–2007 survey estimated that there were 75–100 individuals on Nauru. [9] The number of individuals that monitoring stations observed decreased from 2005 to 2010. The population on the Majuro Atoll of the Marshall Islands was estimated at 80 in 2011, after a recovery programme of the Marshall Islands Conservation Society. [1]

The Micronesian imperial pigeon is hunted, possibly causing the population decline on Palau and Nauru. It is also threatened by deforestation. Because of these threats, the population is probably declining. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has therefore assessed the species as Vulnerable. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federated States of Micronesia</span> Country in Oceania

The Federated States of Micronesia, or simply Micronesia, is an island country in Micronesia, a subregion of Oceania. The federation consists of four states—from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae—that are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise around 607 islands that cover a longitudinal distance of almost 2,700 km (1,700 mi) just north of the equator. They lie northeast of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, south of Guam and the Marianas, west of Nauru and the Marshall Islands, east of Palau and the Philippines, about 2,900 km (1,800 mi) north of eastern Australia, 3,400 km (2,100 mi) southeast of Japan, and some 4,000 km (2,485 mi) southwest of the main islands of the Hawaiian Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of the Federated States of Micronesia</span> National flag

The flag of the Federated States of Micronesia was adopted on 30 November 1978. The blue field represents the Pacific Ocean. In an echo of U.S. heraldic practice, the stars represent the four federated states: Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae and Yap, arranged like the points of the compass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green imperial pigeon</span> Species of bird

The green imperial pigeon is a large forest pigeon. The large range extends from Nepal, southern India and Sri Lanka eastwards to southern China, Indonesia and the Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pied imperial pigeon</span> Species of bird

The pied imperial pigeon is a relatively large, pied species of pigeon. It is found in forest, woodland, mangrove, plantations and scrub in Southeast Asia, ranging from Myanmar and Thailand, throughout Indonesia and east to the Philippines and the Bird's Head Peninsula in New Guinea. It is mainly found on small islands and in coastal regions. It remains locally common, and is therefore considered to be of least concern by BirdLife International and IUCN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Key West quail-dove</span> Species of bird

The Key West quail-dove is a species of bird from the doves and pigeon family Columbidae. It is probably most closely related to the bridled quail-dove.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imperial pigeon</span> Genus of birds

Ducula is a genus of the pigeon family Columbidae, collectively known as imperial pigeons. They are large to very large pigeons with a heavy build and medium to long tails. They are arboreal, feed mainly on fruit and are closely related to the other genus of fruit-eating doves, Ptilinopus. Both genera display brightly coloured plumage, predominantly green, often with contrasting under-parts of purple, orange or red. Some Ducula have prominently swollen ceres. They have large gapes and swallow seeds whole, playing an important role in seed dispersal.

The Vanuatu imperial pigeon or Baker's imperial pigeon is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to Vanuatu and lives in forests. It is threatened by forest clearing, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as a vulnerable species.

The chestnut-bellied imperial pigeon is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the southern Solomon Islands.

The spotted imperial pigeon, also known as the grey-necked imperial pigeon, is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. Endemic to the Philippines, it lives in forests and forest edges but goes down to the limestone shorelines possibly to feed. It is a vulnerable species threatened by habitat loss and hunting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-bellied imperial pigeon</span> Species of bird from Indonesia

The white-bellied imperial pigeon is a species of bird in the pigeon family Columbidae. First described by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854, it is endemic to Indonesia, where it is found on Sulawesi, Buton, Taliabu, Togian, and Peleng. It inhabits primary forest, dense secondary forest, and isolated areas of hill forest. A large pigeon with a long tail, it measures 42.5–51.5 cm (16.7–20.3 in) long and weighs 510 g (18 oz) on average. Males are mainly green, with pale-grey heads and bellies, chestnut vents, and a pale grey tail band, along with a red orbital ring. Females are nearly identical, but have darker grey areas in their plumage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black imperial pigeon</span> Species of bird

The black imperial pigeon, also known as the Bismarck imperial pigeon, is a species of bird in the pigeon family, Columbidae. First described by English zoologist Philip Sclater in 1878, it is endemic to the Bismarck Archipelago, where it mainly inhabits rainforest and cloud forest in mountain areas above 500 m (1,600 ft). It is a large, heavily-built imperial pigeon, with a length of 38–43 cm (15–17 in) and a weight of 661–665 g (23.3–23.5 oz). Adults are almost entirely black, except for the dark chestnut undertail coverts, the silvery-grey underside of the tail, and a pale grey scaly pattern on the wings and back. Both sexes look alike. Juveniles differ from adults in having paler undertail coverts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific imperial pigeon</span> Species of bird

The Pacific imperial pigeon, Pacific pigeon, Pacific fruit pigeon or lupe is a widespread pigeon species in the family Columbidae. It is found in American Samoa, the Cook Islands, the smaller islands of eastern Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, the smaller satellite islands of Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torresian imperial pigeon</span> Species of bird

The Torresian imperial pigeon, also known as the nutmeg pigeon, white nutmeg pigeon, Australian pied imperial pigeon or Torres Strait pigeon, is a relatively large, pied species of pigeon. It is found in forest, woodland, savanna, mangrove and scrub in Australia, New Guinea, Aru Islands, islands in the Geelvink Bay, D'Entrecasteaux Islands and Louisiade Archipelago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palau ground dove</span> Species of bird endemic to the island country Palau

The Palau ground dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to Palau, living in forests. The IUCN has assessed it as an endangered species.

The Wetar ground dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae found on Wetar, Indonesia, and on Timor. Its natural habitats are monsoon forests and gallery forests, and possibly woodland and bamboos. Threatened by habitat loss and hunting, the species is assessed as endangered by the IUCN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Micronesian myzomela</span> Species of bird

The Micronesian myzomela is a species of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. The species forms a superspecies with a number of related and similar looking island and mainland myzomelas across the Pacific and Australasia. It in turn is composed of seven insular subspecies.

The 8th Micronesian Games were held from July 20 to July 30, 2014, in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).

Athletics competitions at the 2014 Micronesian Games were held at the Pohnpei Track and Field in Palikir, Pohnpei, between July 21–24, 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolines tropical moist forests</span>

The Carolines tropical moist forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in Micronesia. It includes the central and eastern Caroline Islands in the Federated States of Micronesia.

Football competitions have were first held at the Micronesian Games for the 1998 edition of the tournament. The event is open to the ten member federations of the Micronesian Games Council, a sub-regional member of the Oceania National Olympic Committees. The football tournament has been held at two subsequent games since 1998, in 2014 and 2018. Although a similar football tournament called the Micronesian Cup was held in 1999 and 2001, they were separate events as no Micronesian Games were held in those years.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 BirdLife International (2020). "Ducula oceanica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22691663A193129192. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22691663A193129192.en . Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Gibbs, David; Barnes, Eustace; Cox, John (2010). Pigeons and Doves: A Guide to the Pigeons and Doves of the World. A&C Black. pp. 540–541. ISBN   9781408135563.
  3. "Illegal hunting is causing the decline of belochel (Micronesian Imperial-pigeon) in Palau". Data Zone. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  4. Baptista, L. F.; Trail, P. W.; Horblit, H. M.; Boesman, P. (4 March 2020). "Micronesian Imperial-pigeon (Ducula oceanica)". In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D. A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. doi:10.2173/bow.miipig1.01. S2CID   241702981.
  5. Gill, F.; Donsker, D. (eds.). "Pigeons". IOC World Bird List Version 7.1. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  6. f, Baptista; w., Trail; m., Horblit; d., Boesman; Ernest, Garcia (4 March 2020). Del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Sargatal, Jordi; Christie, David; De Juana, Eduardo (eds.). "Micronesian Imperial-Pigeon (Ducula oceanica)". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.miipig1.01. S2CID   241702981.
  7. Steadman, D. W. (1999). The prehistory of vertebrates, especially birds, on Tinian, Aguiguan, and Rota, Northern Mariana Islands. MICRONESICA-AGANA-, 31, 319-345.
  8. VanderWerf, Eric A. (2007). 2005 Bird Surveys in the Republic of Palau: Final Report (PDF) (Report). p. 45. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-22.
  9. Buden, Donald W. (2008). "The Birds of Nauru" (PDF). Notornis. 55 (1). Ornithological Society of New Zealand: 8–19.