Island Imperial-Pigeon
Ducula pistrinaria
A large, long-necked pigeon, more uniformly gray than other imperial-pigeons in the region. Overall very pale, with a dark blue tail, a pinkish wash to throat and chest, and a gray back and wings. Birds in the Admiralty Islands have green wings and back. Relatively coastal, preferring smaller islands. Perches conspicuously in the open. Similar to Pacific Imperial-Pigeon, but overall paler. Birds on the Admiralty Islands differ from juvenile Red-knobbed Imperial-Pigeon in their gray, not cinnamon, belly and underside. Normally heard giving a high-pitched “ahu ahu ahu ahu” call, falling in pitch and volume.
Identification
The island imperial pigeon is about 39–45 cm (15–18 in) long and weighs 470–500 g (17–18 oz). The head and neck are pale grey, and there are white spectacles. The upperparts are glossy. The wing coverts and tertials are grey-green, and the primaries and secondaries are blackish. The back is grey-green. The uppertail is dark blue-green, and the undertail is chestnut. The throat is vinous, the breast is greyish-vinous, and the belly is greyish-fawn. The beak is slaty-blue, having a black tip. The eye is dark red or brownish, and the feet are red. The juvenile bird is duller and buffier. The subspecies have different sizes and glosses.
Taxonomy
This species was described by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1855. The following subspecies are recognised: Ducula pistrinaria rhodinolaema, D. p. vanwyckii, D. p. postrema and D. p. pistrinaria.
- Scientific name
- Ducula pistrinaria
- Authority
- Bonaparte, 1855
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Ducula
Range and habitat
This pigeon is found in the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands archipelago and small islands to the north and east of New Guinea. Its habitat is coastal primary forest, old secondary forest, mangroves and some disturbed habitats.
- Migration
- Nomadic movement
Behavior
One or two birds and small flocks are usually found; large flocks are occasionally seen. The pigeon flies swiftly and directly. It plucks fruits from branches in the canopy, and it flies across the sea to search for food. Its calls include a rising and repeated c-wooooohooo given when the bird is upright, a loud series of descending coos while bobbing up and down, and a high-pitched crrrrrurrr. In display, it flies up at an angle of 70° and then glides. Breeding has been observed from June to September and in March. The nest is built at the end of a branch and made of twigs. One egg is laid.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
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