Cuckoo pigeons
| Cuckoo pigeons | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
8.jpg)
Indonesia cuckoo pigeon ( Macropygia emiliana ) |
||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||
|
||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||
| Macropygia | ||||||||
| Swainson , 1837 |
Cuckoo pigeons ( Macropygia ) are a genus of pigeon birds . Nine recent species are included in the genus. The species occur only in Southeast Asia.
Appearance
Cuckoo pigeons reach a body length between 25 and 45 centimeters. So for size, to match the Lachtaube to a street pigeon . Some of the species have a clearly identifiable sexual dimorphism .
Most species have red-brown plumage. The feathers of individual parts of the body are lined with dark, so that a stripe or stippling is created, which is reminiscent of the plumage of a cuckoo . The wings are strongly rounded. The middle tail feathers are noticeably long and wide. The rest are short, so that the tail looks very graduated. While foraging for food, cuckoo pigeons often use this tail to support and balance. The feet are unusually short for a pigeon species.
Spread and behavior
The range of the cuckoo pigeons is very large. It stretches from the Himalayas of India to southern China to Indonesia and the Philippines to Vanuatu and Australia. The diet consists of berries, fruits, seeds and rice. The species are predominantly tree and shrub inhabitants. The habits of the cuckoo pigeons are still largely unexplored. As far as is known of the individual species, they build nests that consist of an unusually large amount of nesting material for pigeons. The clutch consists of only one egg.
species
The cuckoo pigeons belong within the order of the pigeon birds to the subfamily Columbinae . In addition to nine recent species, the Huahine cuckoo dove ( Macropygia arevarevauupa ) and the Marquesas cuckoo dove ( Macropygia heana ) are assigned to this genus. These extinct species are known only from approximately 750 to 1250 year old subfossil bone fragments from excavations on Huahine ( Society Islands ) and the Marquesas . The species still occurring today are:
- Malayan cuckoo pigeon ( Macropygia unchall )
- Andaman cuckoo pigeon ( Macropygia rufipennis )
- Philippines cuckoo pigeon ( Macropygia tenuirostris )
- Dark cuckoo pigeon ( Macropygia phasianella )
- Indonesia cuckoo pigeon ( Macropygia emiliana )
- Pink-breasted Cuckoo Dove ( Macropygia amboinensis )
- Great cuckoo pigeon ( Macropygia magna )
- Little Cuckoo Dove ( Macropygia ruficeps )
- Little Cuckoo Dove ( Macropygia nigrirostris )
- Fox- red cuckoo pigeon ( Macropygia mackinlayi )
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Rösler, p. 134.
- ^ David W. Steadman, New species of Gallicolumba and Macropygia (Aves: Columbidae) from archeological sites in Polynesia. In: Jonathan J. Becker (Ed.): Papers in Avian Paleontology Honoring Pierce Brodkorb. (= Science series. Volume 36.) Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 1992, pp. 329-348.
- ↑ Jeremy J. Kirchman, David William Steadman : New Species of Rails (Aves: Rallidae) From an Archaeological Site on Huahine, Society Islands. In: Pacific Science. Volume 60, No. 2, 2006, pp. 281-297 (p. 281), doi: 10.1353 / psc.2006.0007 .
literature
- Gerhard Rösler: The wild pigeons of the earth - free living, keeping and breeding. M. & H. Schaper Verlag, Alfeld-Hannover 1996, ISBN 3-7944-0184-0 .
