Red-moustached fruit dove | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Columbiformes |
Family: | Columbidae |
Genus: | Ptilinopus |
Species: | †P. mercierii |
Binomial name | |
†Ptilinopus mercierii | |
The red-moustached fruit dove or moustached fruit dove (Ptilinopus mercierii) is an extinct species of bird in the family Columbidae. It was endemic to French Polynesia. The last record was of the subspecies P. m. tristrami on Hiva Oa, in 1922. Its extinction has been attributed to predation by the introduced great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus ), as well as by introduced rats and cats. In 1994, it was listed as an extinct species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Endangered Species.
The red-moustached fruit dove measured 21 to 23 cm (8.3 to 9.1 in) in length. [2] The head, breast, and neck were bluish grey, and the tail was short, almost square shaped. The underpart plumage was golden yellow in colour. [2] The juvenile had less yellow on the hind neck and crown. The breast was green-tinged and had light yellowish on the peripheries of the feathers. The undertail coverts were yellow-white. [3]
It was similar in appearance with the white-capped fruit dove ( Ptilinopus dupetithouarsii ). [4]
The red-moustached fruit dove was endemic to the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. The nominate subspecies was found on the Nuku Hiva Island, and the subspecies P. m. tristrami was found on the Hiva Oa Island. [1] Described as arboreal, the red-moustached fruit dove inhabited montane forests, usually higher in altitude than the white-capped fruit dove, [3] at elevations of at least 1,370 metres (4,490 ft) above sea level. [4]
In 1988, the red-moustached fruit dove was listed as an endangered species on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. However, in 1994, it was reassessed to be extinct. The reason of its extinction was attributed to the predation by the introduced rats, cats, and the great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus ). Its last record was in 1922, in the French Polynesian island Hiva Oa, of a subspecies P. m. tristrami. [1]
The great horned owl, also known as the tiger owl, or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extremely adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas. Its primary diet is rabbits and hares, rats and mice, and voles, although it freely hunts any animal it can overtake, including rodents and other small mammals, larger mid-sized mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates.
Wallace's fruit dove is a species of bird in the pigeon family Columbidae. The name commemorates the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. It is a rather large, long-tailed fruit dove with a length of 24–28 cm (9.4–11.0 in) and has been described as "one of the most beautiful" fruit doves. The forehead and crown are dull crimson, the lower face and throat are white, and the rest of the head, breast, neck, and upper back are pale bluish-grey. The wings and lower back are green and the belly is orange, separated from the chest by a white band. Both sexes look similar, but females have less extensive red on the head and a greenish tinge to their grey parts.
The Negros fruit dove is a species of bird in the pigeon and dove family, Columbidae. It is endemic to the island of Negros in the Philippines. This fruit dove is known from a single female specimen collected from the slopes of Mount Kanlaon in the northern part of the island. While it was found at a high elevation, it is suspected that the species originally lived in the lowland dipterocarp forests and was driven to higher elevations by habitat destruction. While some have suggested that the specimen is either a runt or a hybrid instead of a valid species, this is not widely accepted. The female Negros fruit dove was a small fruit dove with vivid dark green plumage and an ashy-grey forehead. It had a distinctive ring of bare yellow skin around its eye, and yellow fringes to some of its feathers gave it the appearance of having a yellow wingbar when perched. The throat was white, while the undertail and vent were yellow.
The atoll fruit dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the Tuamotu archipelago in French Polynesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and plantations. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The white-capped fruit dove, also called kuku locally, is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It was described by French naturalist and surgeon Adolphe-Simon Neboux in 1840. It is endemic to the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. The name honours French admiral and botanist Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars. Two subspecies exist on the islands, Ptilinopus d. dupetithouarsii and Ptilinopus d. viridior.
The white-headed fruit dove is a species of bird in the pigeon family Columbidae. It was described by the English ornithologist John Gould in 1856, and the specific name eugeniae honours the French empress Eugénie de Montijo. Adults of the species have white heads, a purplish-red breast patch, a grey shoulder patch, olive-green upperparts, greenish underparts with a blue tinge, and a yellowish vent. Juveniles have green heads with the white restricted to the forehead and upper throat, a much smaller grey shoulder patch, and the red breast patch restricted to the centre of the breast.
The Rapa fruit dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae, which includes pigeons and doves. It is endemic to the island of Rapa Iti in French Polynesia. The species was classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List in 2018 because of its small population and predicted continued decline. The Rapa fruit dove primarily feeds on fleshy fruit. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and it has an extent of 30 km2. It is threatened by habitat loss due to deforestation and invasive species. Effective land protection and management could increase the quality of habitat for the species. Additional research into population dynamics and the impact of threats to the species can give a better understanding of the conservation practices needed.
The yellow-breasted fruit dove locally known as balorinay is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the Philippines. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forest. While it is listed as least concern in IUCN, it is declining due to habitat loss, hunting, and trapping for the illegal wildlife trade.
The many-colored fruit dove, also known as manuma in the Samoan language, is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It occurs on islands in the south-west Pacific Ocean where it is found in Fiji, the Samoan Islands, and Tonga. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Today, the birds are most often found in Fiji and Tonga. It usually feeds high in the canopy on fruit and berries, especially banyan fig. The nest is a small platform of twigs where one white egg is laid.
The grey-green fruit dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the Society Islands in French Polynesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
The white-bibbed fruit dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae.
The Marquesan monarch is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is endemic to French Polynesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The fruit doves, also known as fruit pigeons, are a genus (Ptilinopus) of birds in the pigeon and dove family (Columbidae). These colourful, frugivorous doves are found in forests and woodlands in Southeast Asia and Oceania. It is a large genus with over 50 species, some threatened or already extinct.
The Raiatea fruit dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the Society Islands in French Polynesia. Although first named to science in 1853, this fruit dove was evidently discovered 30 years earlier, by René Primevère Lesson (1794–1849), while serving as naturalist aboard La Coquille. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the grey-green fruit dove but was split as a distinct species by the IOC in 2021. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
The Marquesas tropical moist forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia.