Trocaz pigeon

Last updated

Trocaz pigeon
Trocaz Pigeon Madeira.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Columbiformes
Family: Columbidae
Genus: Columba
Species:
C. trocaz
Binomial name
Columba trocaz
Heineken, 1829
LocationMadeira.png
Location map
Synonyms
  • Columba laurivora
    Webb, Berthelot & Moquin-Tandon, 1841 [2]
  • Trocaza bouvryi
    Bonaparte, 1855 [3] [4]

The trocaz pigeon, Madeira laurel pigeon or long-toed pigeon (Columba trocaz) 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.

Contents

A scarce resident breeder in laurisilva forests, the trocaz pigeon lays one white egg in a flimsy twig nest. Its numbers fell sharply after human colonisation of the Madeira archipelago, and it vanished altogether from Porto Santo Island. The major cause of its population decline was habitat loss from forest clearance, but hunting and nest predation by introduced rats were also contributory factors. Protection of the laurel forests and a ban on hunting have enabled numbers to increase, so that the species is no longer endangered.

Description

The trocaz pigeon is a rather plain, dark grey bird 40–45 cm (15.7–17.7 in) long with a 68–74 cm (26.8–29.1 in) wingspan. [5] The upper back has a violet sheen, becoming green on the back of the neck, and the neck sides are patterned with silver-white. The tail is blackish with a wide, pale grey band, and the flight feathers are mainly black. The upper breast is pinkish, the eye is yellow, the bill has a yellow tip and a reddish-purple base, and the legs are red. The sexes are similar in appearance, but the juvenile has generally browner plumage, with limited or no development of the silvery neck patch. Its closed wings have a scaly appearance due to pale buff feather edges. [6] The trocaz pigeon's voice is weaker and deeper than that of common wood pigeon, typically consisting of six syllables with the middle pair of notes extended and stressed: uh-uh hrooh-hrooh ho-ho. [5] When flying, it appears heavy and large-tailed, although its flight is rapid and direct. [6]

The common wood pigeon had a poorly defined Madeiran subspecies, Columba palumbus maderensis . This was paler than the trocaz pigeon and had white wing patches and a more extensive green iridescence on the nape, [6] but it became extinct before 1924. [7] Bolle's pigeon is more similar in appearance to the trocaz pigeon, although it lacks the whitish neck patch and has a more extensively pink breast. However, that species is endemic to the Canary Islands, so there is no range overlap. [5] The only other pigeon currently present on Madeira is the feral pigeon; this is slimmer, has more pointed wings and a much smaller tail. It often has dark wing markings, and a lighter flight. [6]

Taxonomy

Trocaz Pigeon at Monte Palace Tropical Garden, Madeira on June 8, 2019. Trocaz Piegon shot (2).jpg
Trocaz Pigeon at Monte Palace Tropical Garden, Madeira on June 8, 2019.

The genus Columba is the largest within the pigeon family, and has the widest distribution. Its members are typically pale grey or brown, often with white head or neck markings or iridescent green or purple patches on the neck and breast. The neck feathers may be stiffened and aligned to form grooves. One of several subgroups within Columba consists of the widespread Eurasian common wood pigeon, Bolle's pigeon, the trocaz pigeon, and the African Afep pigeon. The two Macaronesian endemic pigeons, Bolle's and trocaz, are thought to be derived from isolated island populations of C. palumbus. [8]

The Atlantic archipelagos of the Canaries, Azores, and Madeira have a volcanic origin and they have never been part of a continent. The formation of Madeira started in the Miocene and the island was substantially complete by 700,000 years ago. [9] At various times in the past, the major islands of these archipelagos were all colonised by ancestral wood pigeons, which evolved on their respective islands in isolation from the mainland populations. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences suggest that the ancestor of Bolle's pigeon may have arrived in the Canaries about 5  mya, but an older lineage that gave rise to another Canarian endemic, the laurel pigeon, C. junoniae, may date from 20 mya. [10] The most recent wood pigeon arrival on Madeira was that which gave rise to the subspecies C. palumbus maderensis. [7]

The trocaz pigeon was formally described in 1829 by Karl Heineken, a German medical doctor and ornithologist who was living on Madeira at the time. He recognised it as different from the now-extinct local form of the common wood pigeon, which he called the "Palumbus", and noted that the two pigeons never interbred or habitually associated together. He suggested designating the new species by its local name, "trocaz". [11] Trocaz is a variant of Portuguese torcaz, the common wood pigeon; both words are ultimately derived from the Latin torquis, a collar, and refer to the bird's coloured neck patches. [12] This is a monotypic species, although in the past Bolle's pigeon was sometimes regarded as a subspecies of the trocaz pigeon. [13]

Distribution and habitat

Old illustration based on a specimen obtained by Mr Carruthers of Madeira in 1827 Trocaz Pigeon.jpg
Old illustration based on a specimen obtained by Mr Carruthers of Madeira in 1827

The trocaz pigeon is endemic to the mountainous subtropical Atlantic main island of Madeira, although it formerly also bred on the neighbouring Porto Santo Island. It mainly occurs on the northern slopes of the mountains, but smaller numbers are found in the south where suitable patches of laurel forest remain. [14]

The natural habitat is tall laurisilva forest or dense tree heaths which are cloud-covered for much of the year. [15] The forests consist mainly of laurel, Ocotea foetens , [16] Madeira mahogany, Canary laurel, faya, lily-of-the-valley-tree and Picconia excelsa . The trocaz pigeon prefers primary forests, but secondary growth is used for feeding, and agricultural land is also visited, especially at times of fruit shortage. [6] Most of the pigeons are found below 1,000 m (3,300 ft), and their prime environment appears to be steep ravine-indented slopes along artificial watercourses, with the occasional large dead laurel tree and much tree heath. [15] This species is highly mobile between different areas at different times of year. [14]

Behaviour

Breeding

C L Bonaparte described the trocaz pigeon as Trocaza bouvryi in 1855 TrocazaBouvryiBonaparte.jpg
C L Bonaparte described the trocaz pigeon as Trocaza bouvryi in 1855

Pigeons can breed from their first year, and nesting occurs throughout the year, although mainly from February to June. The displays are similar to those of the common wood pigeon; the male climbs quickly in flight, gives a loud wing-clap, and then glides down with his wings and tail spread. The display may be repeated two or three times before the bird returns to a perch. On the ground the male performs a bowing display with his neck inflated to show off the iridescent neck patches; meanwhile, the tail is raised, fanned, then closed again. This display is usually accompanied by calling. The nest is a typical pigeon construction, a flimsy structure of twigs and grasses usually placed high in a tree in thick forest. One, rarely two, smooth white eggs are laid, [6] although no nest with two chicks has ever been found. [17] The eggs, 3.0–5.0 cm (1.2–2.0 in) in size, [18] are incubated for 19–20 days; the young are able to fly in 28 days, and are independent within eight weeks. [6]

Feeding

The trocaz pigeon is exclusively herbivorous. Nearly 60% of its diet is fruit, with most of the rest being leaves, and just 1% is flowers. The fruits of Til, Azores Laurel and Persea indica , and the fruits and leaves of small-leaved holly are the most frequently detected food items. Most seeds pass through the digestive system intact, apart from those of Azores Laurel, which are usually damaged. Fruit is the main component of the diet when it is readily available in autumn and winter, and leaves are consumed in spring and summer when fruits are scarce. In one study, 27% of the leaves consumed came from native trees, especially Small-leaved Holly, 61% from herbs and shrubs, and nearly 10% from introduced trees, mainly apples and peaches. [19] This pigeon will feed in agricultural areas, where cabbage is the most commonly taken crop plant. Pigeon faeces from agricultural areas contain few native plants, and samples from forests have few crop species, so some individual birds may concentrate on crops. Feeding in cultivated land is commonest in winter, when fruit is readily available, so it appears not to be a shortage of natural foods that causes them to leave the forest, [20] but is mostly opportunistic, resulting from the birds' movements through nearby forest. [21] However, when the fruit crop of Til and Azores Laurel is poor, large numbers of pigeons may leave the forest to feed on cabbage, flowering cherries and vine shoots. [6] Competition for food with rats can be significant in parts of the island. [17]

Status

The trocaz pigeon formerly bred on both the main island of Madeira and nearby Porto Santo Island. It was very abundant when the islands were first colonised by humans, but was extirpated on Porto Santo, and by 1986 had declined to about 2,700 birds. Hunting was banned in that year, and there are now between 7,500 and 10,000 individuals in approximately 160 square kilometres (62 sq mi) of suitable habitat. The losses on the two islands, the only inhabited ones in the archipelago, were largely the result of deforestation for wood and to create agricultural and grazing land. [14]

The exclusion of livestock from the native forest allows the forest to regenerate and create more suitable habitat. Some illegal hunting and poisoning continues because of the damage this pigeon can do to crops, and the government allowed a cull in 2004. Perhaps the main limiting factor on the rate at which the pigeon increases its numbers is predation by introduced black rats on its eggs and young. The Madeira Nature Park has a management plan for the trocaz pigeon, and it is hoped that an education campaign and the promotion of bird scarers may reduce persecution. Its increasing population means that it is now classed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, an improvement on its Threatened status in 1988. [22] This species is protected under the European Union Birds Directive, and the laurel forests under the Habitats Directive. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common wood pigeon</span> Species of large, white/green-naped, arboreal bird of Eurasia

The common wood pigeon or common woodpigeon, also known as simply wood pigeon or woodpigeon, 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 historically been known as the ring dove, and is locally known in southeast England as the "culver"; the latter name has given rise to several areas known for keeping pigeons to be named after it, such as Culver Down. 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.

<i>Columba</i> (bird) Genus of pigeons

The large bird genus Columba comprises a group of medium to large pigeons. The terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used indiscriminately for smaller and larger Columbidae, respectively. Columba species – at least those of Columba sensu stricto – are generally termed "pigeons", and in many cases wood-pigeons. The rock dove, has given rise to the majority of domesticated pigeon breeds, such as the racing pigeon and the fantail pigeon some of which have become feral. Meanwhile, "wood pigeon" by itself usually means the common wood pigeon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolle's pigeon</span> Species of bird

Bolle's 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.

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

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonin wood pigeon</span> Extinct species of bird

The Bonin wood pigeon was a pigeon endemic to Nakodo-jima and Chichi-jima in the Ogasawara Islands, south of Japan. It is known from four recorded specimens, the first from 1827 and the last from 1889. They averaged a length of 45 cm. This pigeon died out late in the 19th century as a result of deforestation, hunting, and predation by introduced rats and cats.

<i>Ocotea</i> Genus of trees

Ocotea is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Many are evergreen trees with lauroid leaves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madeira firecrest</span> Very small passerine bird in the kinglet family from Madeira

The Madeira firecrest, Madeira kinglet, or Madeiracrest is a very small passerine bird endemic to the island of Madeira. It is a member of the kinglet family. Before it was recognised as a separate species in 2003, it was classified as a subspecies of the common firecrest. It differs in appearance and vocalisations from its relative, and genetic analysis has confirmed it as a different species. The Madeiran bird has green upperparts, whitish underparts and two white wingbars, and a distinctive head pattern with a black eye stripe, short white supercilium, and a crest that is mainly orange in the male and yellow in the female.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garajonay National Park</span>

Garajonay National Park is located in the center and north of the island of La Gomera, one of the Canary Islands (Spain). It was declared a national park in 1981 and a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. It occupies 40 km2 and it extends into each of the six municipalities on the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madeiran wood pigeon</span> Extinct subspecies of bird

The Madeiran wood pigeon was a subspecies of the wood pigeon endemic to Madeira (Portugal), and found in the island's laurel forest habitat.

The Ryukyu wood pigeon, otherwise known as the silver-banded or silver-crescented pigeon is an extinct species of bird in the Columba genus in the family Columbidae. This wood pigeon was endemic to the Laurel forest habitat.

<i>Picconia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Picconia is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae, found in the laurel forests habitat of Macaronesia.

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

The Madagascar blue pigeon is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. The species is closely related to the other two extant species of blue pigeon, the Comoros blue pigeon and the Seychelles blue pigeon. It is endemic to northern and eastern Madagascar.

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

The Japanese wood pigeon is a species of columbid bird. It is found in East Asia along shorelines of the Pacific's Korea Strait, Philippine Sea and East China Sea. They are believed to be the largest representative of their genus, Columba, at 550 grams (1.2 lb) and 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.

<i>Ocotea foetens</i> Species of tree

Ocotea foetens, commonly called til or stinkwood is a species of tree in the family Lauraceae. It is evergreen and grows up to 40 m tall. It is a common constituent of the laurisilva forests of Madeira and the Canary Islands. Leaf fossils of this species are known from the Mio-Pleistocene of Madeira Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azores wood pigeon</span> Subspecies of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madeira evergreen forests</span> Ecological zone of Madeira and nearby islands

The Madeira evergreen forests is a laurissilva ecoregion of southwestern Europe. It covers the archipelago of Madeira and some nearby islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Laurel forest, known as laurissilva, once covered the islands. Over centuries the laurel forests were mostly cleared. Madeira's remaining forests are now protected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests</span>

The Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in the Canary Islands. It encompasses the western group of the Canary Islands – La Palma, El Hierro, La Gomera, Tenerife, and Gran Canaria – in the Atlantic Ocean. These volcanic islands are an autonomous community of Spain, and lie southwest of the Spanish mainland and west of the North African coast.

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2017). "Columba trocaz". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T22690112A118618501. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22690112A118618501.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Voisin, C.; Voisin, J.-F.; Jouanin, C.; Bour, R. (2005). "Liste des types d'oiseaux des collections du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle de Paris, 14: Pigeons (Columbidae), deuxième partie" (PDF). Zoosystema (in French). 27 (4): 839–866. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-12.
  3. ↑ Shelley, G. E. (1883). "On the Columbidae of the Ethiopian Region". Ibis. 25 (3): 258–331. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1883.tb07172.x.
  4. ↑ Godman, F du Cane (1872). "Notes on the Resident and Migratory Birds of Madeira and the Canaries". Ibis. 14 (3): 209–224. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1872.tb08403.x.
  5. 1 2 3 Mullarney (1999) p. 216.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Gibbs (2000) pp. 188–189.
  7. 1 2 Prins, G. "Columba palumbus maderensis". Type specimens in 3-D. Zoological Museum, Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  8. ↑ Gibbs (2000) p. 175.
  9. ↑ "Madeira". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 20 July 2010
  10. ↑ Gonzalez, Javier; Castro, Guillermo Delgado; Garcia-del-Rey, Eduardo; Berger, Carola; Wink, Michael (2009). "Use of mitochondrial and nuclear genes to infer the origin of two endemic pigeons from the Canary Islands". Journal of Ornithology. 150 (2): 357–367. doi:10.1007/s10336-008-0360-4. S2CID   24740854.
  11. ↑ Heineken, Karl (1829). "Notice of some of the Birds of Madeira". Edinburgh Journal of Science. 1 (2): 230.
  12. ↑ Weiszflog, Walter (1998). Michaelis Moderno Dicionario Da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese). São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos Ltda. ISBN   978-85-06-02759-2.
  13. ↑ Martin, A (1985). "Première observation du pigeon Trocaz (Columba trocaz bollii) à l'Ile de Hierro (Iles Canaries)". Alauda (in French). 53 (2): 137–140.
  14. 1 2 3 "BirdLife International Species factsheet: Columba trocaz". BirdLife International. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
  15. 1 2 Snow (1998) p. 848.
  16. ↑ Hartert, E (1912–21). Die Vögel der paläarktischen Fauna. Volume 2 (in German). Berlin: H. Friedlander & Sohn. p. 1480.
  17. 1 2 3 Oliveira, Paulo; Heredia, Borja. "Action plan for the Madeira Laurel Pigeon (Columba trocaz)" (PDF). Funchal: Parque Natural da Madeira.
  18. ↑ Dresser, Henry Eeles (1903). Manual of Palearctic Birds. Vol. 2. London: self-published. p. 645.
  19. ↑ Oliveira, Paulo; Marrero, Patricia; Nogales, Manuel (2002). "Diet of the endemic Madeira Laurel Pigeon and fruit resource availability: a study using microhistological analyses" (PDF). The Condor. 104 (4): 811–822. doi:10.1650/0010-5422(2002)104[0811:DOTEML]2.0.CO;2. S2CID   55469944.
  20. ↑ Marrero, Patricia; Oliveira, Paulo; Nogales, Manuel (2004). "Diet of the endemic Madeira Laurel Pigeon Columba trocaz in agricultural and forest areas: implications for conservation" (PDF). Bird Conservation International. 14 (3): 165–172. doi: 10.1017/S0959270904000218 . S2CID   85691581.
  21. ↑ Oliveira, Paulo; Menezes Dilia; Jones Martin; Nogales Manuel (2006). "The influence of fruit abundance on the use of forest and cultivated field habitats by the endemic Madeira laurel pigeon Columba trocaz: Implications for conservation" (PDF). Biological Conservation. 130 (4): 538–548. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2006.01.016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-09-24.
  22. ↑ "Madeira Laurel Pigeon ( Columba trocaz ) – BirdLife species factsheet (additional data)". BirdLife International. Retrieved 15 October 2010.

Cited text

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.