Madagascar Blue-Pigeon
Alectroenas madagascariensis
Medium-sized chunky pigeon that is dark blue with a maroon tail. Appears short-tailed in flight. Found in and around rainforest in eastern, central, and northern Madagascar. Most often seen perched up conspicuously on emergent trees, feeding on fruiting trees, or in flight in small flocks. Virtually silent, which is very unusual for a pigeon. Dark-blue coloration separates it from all other pigeons on Madagascar.
识别特征
The Madagascar blue pigeon is 25 to 27 cm (9.8–10.6 in) long. The plumage of this species is dominated by shades of blue, as the name suggests; the neck and throat are silvery blue-grey and the plumes are filamentous, the upper parts are silvery-grey, and the breast blue-grey going to deep blue on the belly. The tail is deep red, and the head is blue with a large red patch of bare skin around the yellow eye. The feet are red and the small bill is greenish with a yellow tip.
分类信息
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the Madagascar blue pigeon in his six volume Ornithologie. He used the French name Le pigeon ramier bleu de Madagascar and the Latin Palumbus coeruleus madagascariensis. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the Madagascar blue pigeon which he placed with all the other pigeons in the genus Columba. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Columba madagascariensis and cited Brisson's work. This pigeon is now placed in the genus Alectroenas that was introduced in 1840 by the English zoologist George Robert Gray. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- 学名
- Alectroenas madagascariensis
- 命名信息
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- 目
- Columbiformes
- 科
- Columbidae
- 属
- Alectroenas
分布与栖息地
Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, both undisturbed and degraded, from sea-level to 2,000 m (6,600 ft). Within this habitat they are often observed from the tree tops and on branches above the canopy. The species is apparently partially migratory, leaving the northern part of the island for part of the year and moving west during the rainy season. More research is needed to understand this behaviour.
- 迁徙
- Complete migrants
行为
Little is known about its behaviour. It has been observed feeding on fruit, either in pairs or in small groups of up to 12 birds. The nests are simple platforms of twigs placed 6–20 m (20–66 ft) up a tree, and the clutch size is a single egg.
保护状况
- 种群趋势
- declining
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
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Lewinia mirifica
A mysterious medium-sized rail, possibly of foothill or montane grassy areas and forests. Dark brown above with a pale gray chest, a whitish throat, a barred belly, blackish legs, and a fairly long, curved reddish bill. Little known in life and mainly seen at a banding station, suggesting local migration. Similar to Slaty-breasted and Buff-banded Rails, but Luzon has a fairly unpatterned back, a longer, thinner bill, and no rufous on the head. Voice little known, although when distressed, gives a sharp “kwik!” and various squeals.
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Small, oblong-shaped seabird. Breeding plumage mottled brown; darkness varies, but often shows golden tint. Nonbreeding plumage dark gray above and white below, with a white face and large white wing patch. Nests in crevices in rocky scree slopes, particularly around glaciers; forages in coastal glacial outflows. Similar to Marbled and Long-billed Murrelets, but with shorter bill and white outer tail feathers; breeding birds average paler with speckled back, while nonbreeders show white on face extending above the eye.
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