Silver-tipped Imperial-Pigeon
Ducula luctuosa
A striking creamy-white pigeon with silvery-black wings and tail and dark speckles on the base of the undertail. Juveniles are grayer, with buff fringes to many feathers. Typically found in groups within the treetops of forest edge and in open wooded areas in the lowlands. Very similar to Pied Imperial-Pigeon, but Silvery-tipped differs in the silvery cast to the dark wing markings and the presence of dark markings at the base of the undertail. Vocalizations include a deep hoot with emphasis on the middle section: “whooOOoo.”
Identification
It has sometimes been considered a subspecies of the pied imperial pigeon, but has a yellowish tip to the bill, black spotting near the vent, and silvery-grey remiges.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Ducula luctuosa
- Authority
- (Temminck, 1824)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Ducula
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Tawny-browed Owl
Pulsatrix koeniswaldiana
Large brown owl with dark eyes and distinctive white semicircles on its face. Streaked below with distinctive pale white bars. Found mainly in open woodland, especially with Araucaria trees. The song is a deep and low “uh-uh-uh–prupruprrrr.”
Gould's Petrel
Pterodroma leucoptera
Small gray-and-white gadfly petrel. Note distinctive dark gray cap extending from the crown down the sides of the face, nape and neck to the wing, contrasting with white face. Upperwings dark gray with distinctive dark ‘M’ that extends across the wings. Underparts all white apart from a broad black band at the bend of the wing which extends towards the tip and diagonally back towards, but not reaching, the body. Two subspecies; breeds off of New South Wales and along the central mountain range of New Caledonia respectively. Migrates east and north across Pacific Ocean after breeding. Distinguished from other gadfly petrels by darker cap, and broader dark band on underwing. Can be seen feeding in association with other seabirds, tuna and dolphins.
White-winged Widowbird
Euplectes albonotatus
The breeding male is black with a pale blue bill, brightly-colored shoulder epaulets (chestnut in northeast Africa, yellow elsewhere), and diagnostic white wing panels that are most obvious in flight. The distinctive display is a slow butterfly-like flapping. The non-breeding male is buffy and streaky, but retains the shoulder epaulets and wing panel. The female lacks the wing pattern and has a pale unstreaked belly. Pairs and flocks are resident with local movements in open savanna, brushy grassland, swamps, and cultivated areas.
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