Tahitian fruit pigeon
| Tahitian fruit pigeon | ||||||||||
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Tahitian fruit pigeon |
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| Ducula aurorae | ||||||||||
| ( Peale , 1848) |
The Tahitian fruit pigeon ( Ducula aurorae ) is a large species of pigeon bird that is one of the fruit pigeons . It occurs exclusively on two small islands in the Society Islands and one island in the Tuamotu Archipelago, two archipelagos in French Polynesia . It is probably the only pigeon species in which the plumage of the young birds is very different from that of the adult birds.
The population of the Tahitian fruit pigeon was classified in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2016 as “ Endangered (EN) ”.
Appearance
The Tahitian fruit pigeon reaches a body length of about 48 centimeters. It is a little bigger than a city pigeon . The tail accounts for 16.5 to 17.5 centimeters. There is no noticeable gender dimorphism . The females are just a little smaller.
The Tahitian fruit pigeon has a striking black hump at the base of its beak. The black wax skin is partially feathered. The chin and feathers at the base of the beak are creamy white and then merge into a light ash-gray forehead and a light ash-gray throat. The rest of the head including the ear covers as well as the neck are a little darker gray. Pale feathers around the eye form a faint, glasses-like frame. The back and the wing covers are dark gray, the belly is gray-green. The under tail coverts are gray and in some individuals reddish red. The iris is red, the feet are an intense red.
One of the peculiarities of the Tahitian fruit pigeon is that the young birds have a specific juvenile dress. After the nestling phase, they molt into a plumage with a soot-black head and neck. The coat is also soot-colored and has a bluish and purple sheen. The wings and the back are also black, the control springs are dark blue. The chin is ash gray and then merges into the soot-black throat. The chest and stomach are also blackish. The iris is bright red. The beak is black, but does not yet have as much swollen wax skin as in the adult birds.
Distribution area
The Tahitian fruit pigeon is an island endite . It occurs or occurred on the Society Islands only on the islands of Tahiti and Moorea . In Tahiti the landscape is characterized by steep peaks, the highest of which, Mont Orohena on Tahiti Nui, rises 2241 m. The highest point on Tahiti Iti is Mont Ronui with 1332 meters. Running waters have carved deep valleys, which are bordered by rugged rock ridges. The uninhabited interior of the island is densely overgrown with tropical vegetation. Moorea is within sight of Tahiti, only separated from the west coast by a strait of 17 km. The climate on both islands is tropical and humid. The annual average temperature is around 26 ° C, with the individual months differing only insignificantly. The annual mean rainfall is 1761 mm (for comparison: Cologne 797 mm). The rainiest months in Tahiti are December and January with more than 300 mm of rain. The Tuamotu Archipelago is east of the Society Islands. The Tahitian fruit pigeon is limited to Makatea here. The island is a so-called raised atoll , i.e. an atoll that was raised above the sea surface after the reef formation.
In Tahiti, the Tahitian fruit pigeon is or was limited to the interior of the island. It may be extinct here, as it is on Moorea. In addition to changes in the habitat and the introduction of cats and rats, the main cause of the extinction was the settlement of marsh harriers . On Makatea , populations of the species have recovered somewhat after the hunting of this species subsided and mining on the island ceased in the 1960s. However, the resumption of mining is being considered for the island and there is also the risk that the highly nomadic marsh harrier will spread on this island as well.
Way of life
The Tahitian fruit pigeon is an inhabitant of dense forest areas with fruit-bearing trees. It is a very shy bird which, due to its plumage, can hardly be made out in the dense foliage of the treetops. The flight of the pigeon is clumsy with deep wing beats. Unlike the closely related Tonga pigeon, for example , the Tahitian fruit pigeon does not migrate.
Little is known about the reproductive biology of this species.
literature
- David Gibbs, Eustace Barnes, 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. M. & H. Schaper Verlag, Alfeld-Hannover 1996, ISBN 3-7944-0184-0 .
Web links
- Ducula aurorae in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2013. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2013. Accessed December 3, 2016th
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Ducula aurorae in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2016. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2016. Retrieved on 3 October 2017th
- ↑ a b Gibbs, Barnes and Cox: Pigeons and Doves. P. 542.
- ↑ Gibbs, Barnes and Cox: Pigeons and Doves. P. 541.
- ↑ Gibbs, Barnes and Cox: Pigeons and Doves. P. 543.
- ↑ C. Blanvillain et al .: Impact of introduced birds on the recovery of the Tahiti Flycatcher ( Pomarea nigra ), a critically endangered forest bird of Tahiti. In: Biological Conservation. 109, No. 2, February 2003, pp. 197-205.
- ↑ Neil Hetherington: Species Profile: Australasian Harrier ( Memento of the original from May 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. www.canterburynature.org. September 2006. Accessed December 3, 2016.
