Micronesian Imperial-Pigeon
Ducula oceanica
A large pigeon with a mostly gray body, green wings, and a distinctive and diagnostic black fleshy knob above the bill. Found across most habitats, but most common in undisturbed forest. Voice is a series of raspy growling notes becoming gradually shorter, “grroww… grroww grow grow-gr-gr.”
Identification
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.This species of bird makes many different types of calls, which can sound like barking, cooing, or moaning. It can probably fly pretty well.
Taxonomy
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. 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.
- Scientific name
- Ducula oceanica
- Authority
- (Desmarest, 1826)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Ducula
Range 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. It also occurs in coconut plantations.<p>The species also occurred once in the Mariana Islands, where Holocene subfossil remains are found.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
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. Almost nothing is known about its breeding. The breeding season is probably the entire year.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
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Mountain Owlet-nightjar
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Wattled Broadbill
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A medium-sized bird of lowland and foothill forest on Mindanao and neighboring islands, with a pale blue bill and eye wattle, a black face, a streaked crown, a dark back with a white-and-yellow wingbar, a white collar, and a reddish rump and tail. Underparts are white in the female and pinkish in the male. Makes short sallies from a perched position to catch insects. Can be found in pairs, small groups, or sometimes mixed-species flocks. Unmistakable. Voice includes a plaintive whistle and a metallic “chink,” plus wing noise and bill clicks.
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