Finsch fruit pigeon

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Finsch fruit pigeon
Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Pigeon birds (Columbiformes)
Family : Pigeons (Columbidae)
Genre : Large fruit pigeons ( Ducula )
Type : Finsch fruit pigeon
Scientific name
Ducula finschii
( Ramsay , 1882)

The Finsch fruit pigeon ( Ducula finschii ) is a species of pigeon birds. It only occurs on the Bismarck Archipelago . The IUCN classifies the Finsch fruit pigeon as a species that is potentially endangered ( near threatened ). The population is declining and is less than 20,000 individuals. The clearing of forests is considered to be the cause of the population decline.

Appearance

The Finsch fruit pigeon reaches a body length of 36 centimeters. Overall, it is very similar to the red-tailed fruit pigeon , which belongs to the same genus and is closely related to this species. A sexual dimorphism does not exist in this species.

The head, neck, throat, mantle and upper chest have light blue-gray plumage. The hand wings and tail feathers are blue-black. The tail feathers have a gray and a green end band at their ends. The rest of the top of the body is golden green. The underside of the body is reddish. The beak is dark gray, the iris is red. The eye ring is white.

distribution and habitat

The Finsch fruit pigeon is an endemic species of the Bismarck Archipelago. It settles here on the islands of New Ireland , New Hanover , New Britain , Umboi and Watom. The Finsch fruit pigeon has always been a rare species.

The habitat of the Finsch fruit pigeon is evergreen primary forest, very swampy forest areas, forests that have been partially changed by selective logging and forest edges in the flatlands and in the lower area of ​​the mountains. The Finsch fruit pigeon occurs mainly at altitudes between 200 and 900 meters.

behavior

The Finsch fruit rope lives mostly individually, but is occasionally also observed in pairs. It usually stays in the lower and middle areas of the tree tops and prefers the interior of the forest. It is a very shy species that is usually very difficult to spot in the dense vegetation. It eats fruits with a diameter of 17 to 38 millimeters. Nothing is known about reproductive biology.

Naming

The Finsch fruit pigeon is named in honor of the German ornithologist Otto Finsch .

supporting documents

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ BirdLife Factsheet , accessed July 1, 2009
  2. ↑ a b Gibbs, p. 553
  3. ↑ Rösler, p. 302

literature

  • David Gibbs, Eustace Barnes and John Cox: Pigeons and Doves - A Guide to the Pigeons and Doves of the World . Pica Press, Sussex 2001, ISBN 90-74345-26-3
  • Alois Münst and Josef Wolters: Tauben - The types of wild pigeons , 2nd expanded and revised edition, Verlag Karin Wolters, Bottrop 1999, ISBN 3-9801504-9-6
  • Gerhard Rösler: The wild pigeons of the earth - free living, keeping and breeding . Verlag M. & H. Schaper, Alfeld Hannover 1996, ISBN 3-7944-0184-0

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