Merrill fruit pigeon

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Merrill fruit pigeon
Ptilinopus merrilli 1979 stamp of the Philippines.jpg

Merrill fruit pigeon ( Ptilinopus merrilli )

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Pigeon birds (Columbiformes)
Family : Pigeons (Columbidae)
Genre : Downy pigeons ( Ptilinopus )
Type : Merrill fruit pigeon
Scientific name
Ptilinopus merrilli
( McGregor , 1916)

The Merrill fruit pigeon ( Ptilinopus merrilli ) is a species of pigeon. It occurs in two subspecies exclusively in the Philippines .

Appearance

The Merrill fruit pigeon reaches a body length of 33 centimeters. It is a little bigger than a laughing dove , but a little more compact. There is no gender dimorphism.

The head, neck and chest are light gray. Some individuals have a red patch of color on the center of the crown. The rest of the top of the body is bright green. The chest is separated from the stomach by a dark green band. The belly is creamy yellow and noticeably lighter than the chest. The flanks are green. The under tail cover is creamy white. The under wing coverts are ocher colored. The beak is red and brightens a yellow towards the tip. The iris is red. The feet are reddish.

Spread and behavior

The merrill pigeon is an endemic species of the northern Philippines. Here the main distribution area is Luzon . But it is also fairly common on the Polillo Archipelago , a group of islands in the northeast of the Philippines. It is not considered a very common species. However, this can also be due to the fact that it is not very noticeable in the trees due to its plumage. Their habitat are lowlands and submontane forests up to an altitude of 1,300 meters. The nest is built low in trees. The clutch consists of only one egg.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gibbs, p. 462
  2. ^ Gibbs, p. 463

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 .
  • 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 .

Web links