Blue fruit pigeons

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Blue fruit pigeons
Mauritius fruit pigeon (Alectroenas nitidissima) †

Mauritius fruit pigeon ( Alectroenas nitidissima ) †

Systematics
Sub-stem : Vertebrates (vertebrata)
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Pigeon birds (Columbiformes)
Family : Pigeons (Columbidae)
Genre : Blue fruit pigeons
Scientific name
Alectroenas
Gray , 1849

Blue fruit pigeons ( Alectroenas ) are a genus of pigeon birds . The genus includes four species, one of which is extinct. The Mauritius fruit pigeon already had low populations at the beginning of the 19th century and died out in the first decades of the 19th century. The reasons for the population decline were hunting, destruction of the habitat and the looting of nests by introduced species such as rats and crab monkeys . The species still alive today are considered to be harmless and are classified as Least Concern by the IUCN .

Appearance

As is characteristic of most fruit pigeons, the physique of this genus is compact and heavy. However, they are not particularly large species. Most of them are only a little bigger than a laughing pigeon .

All species have in common that their plumage is partly a deep dark blue. In between there are noticeably reddish or silver colored areas. The eye ring is bare and relatively wide. The neck feathers are long and forked. The inner vane of the outermost hand swing has a spatula-shaped bulge.

Spread and behavior

Blue fruit pigeons are found in Mauritius , Madagascar , the Seychelles and the Comoros . The habitat are the evergreen forests of these islands. Blue fruit pigeons are tree-dwelling species. They eat berries and fruits. Little is known about their breeding habits.

species

The following species are counted among the blue fruit pigeons:

supporting documents

Individual evidence

  1. Birdlife factsheet on the genus Alectroenas , accessed on May 16, 2009
  2. Rösler, p. 288

literature

  • Gerhard Rösler: The wild pigeons of the earth - free life, keeping and breeding , Verlag M. & H. Schaper, Alfeld-Hannover 1996, ISBN 3-7944-0184-0

Web links

Commons : Blue Fruit Pigeons ( Alectroenas )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files