Shy Ground Dove Pampusana stairi Scientific name definitions

25–26 cm; 171 g. Mostly dark brown, with paler vinaceous brown head and breast shield; crown and nape gray; lower margin of breast cream-colored; iridescent purple upperparts, especially lesser wing-­coverts; bill black; feet and legs purplish red. Female dimorphic: one form closely resembles male, the other has completely brown underparts with, at most, an inconspicuous paler breast shield. In Fiji, the two female morphs are more or less equally abundant; in Tonga and Samoa, almost all females resemble males. Juvenile reddish brown with paler feather edgings. Subspecies differ slightly in size and coloration, vitiensis being larger and having a darker breast shield.

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Probably most closely related to Santa Cruz Ground Dove (Pampusana sanctaecrucis), and both have been included in a complex that also contains the White-bibbed Ground Dove (Pampusana jobiensis), Caroline Islands Ground Dove (Pampusana kubaryi), Polynesian Ground Dove (Pampusana erythroptera) and White-throated Ground Dove (Pampusana xanthonura), as well as Thick-billed Ground Dove (Pampusana salamonis); present species may be related, more distantly, to the Wetar Ground Dove (Pampusana hoedtii), Bronze Ground Dove (Pampusana beccarii) and Palau Ground Dove (Pampusana canifrons). Type specimen was a bird from London Zoo of uncertain origin; some authorities have questioned designation of Samoa as type locality, suggesting Tonga as more probable origin, but limited series of specimens does not justify altering the designated locality, so birds from Fiji and Tonga are currently placed in subspecies vitiensis; under alternative arrangement, Samoan populations were placed in a separate subspecies samoensis. Birds in Wallis and Futuna Is sometimes placed in subspecies vitiensis (1 Gibbs, D., E. Barnes, and J. Cox (2001). Pigeons and Doves: A Guide to the Pigeons and Doves of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, UK. Close ). Alternatively, species sometimes treated as monotypic (2 Dickinson, E. C., and J. V. Remsen, Editors (2013). The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Fourth edition. Volume 1. Aves Press, Eastbourne, UK. Close ). Two subspecies currently recognized.

Found in a variety of forest types, including lowland rain forest, bamboo thickets and gallery forest up to at least 1,500 m. In Samoa, known surviving populations inhabit open forest on scree slopes or near the littoral strand on small and undeveloped islands.

Presumably sedentary. Prefers to escape by running rather than flying, but can fly swiftly and strongly; takes off with loud wing-clapping.

Diet varied, including seeds, fruit, buds, young leaves, insects and snails. Gizzard is thick and muscular, suggesting the ability to process hard seeds. Feeds on the ground or in understorey.

Advertising call is a series of short even-pitched hoots, at a pace of c. 1.5 notes/second, which may accelerate or decelerate over the duration of the series, “whuu..whuu...whuu...whuu...”. Hoots have a duration of c. 0.30 seconds, and the number of hoots in a series is quite variable (18–65 coos with an average of 28 on Samoa (3 Gibbs, D., E. Barnes, and J. Cox (2001). Pigeons and Doves: A Guide to the Pigeons and Doves of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, UK. Close ) ).

Nests recorded July–January. An insubstantial nest of interwoven twigs, vine stems and rootlets, usually 1–3 m above the ground in a small tree in undergrowth, or in crown of tree-fern. Lays 1–2 pure white eggs.

VULNERABLE. Previously considered Near Threatened. The global population is thought to be within the range of 3,000–15,000 individuals. The species has been extirpated throughout much of its range and its small and fragmented population is thought to be declining. In Western Samoa, small numbers have been found in recent years only on the tiny Aliepata Islands, Nu'utele and Nu'ulua. In American Samoa there are only a few recent sightings on the small islands of Ofu and Olosega . It is also present on Wallis and Futuna. In Tonga, a healthy population occurs on the isolated and largely undisturbed island of Late; it is also found on Fonualei, Hunga Ha'apai and the island of Vava'u. The species appears to be no longer present on the island of Alofi, where it was recorded in 1985/86, but not on surveys in 2008, 2011 or 2014 (5 Thibault, J.-C., Cibois, A. and Meyer, J.-Y. (2015). Birds of Uvea (Wallis), Futuna and Alofi islands (south-west Pacific): an update. Notornis 62(1):30–37. Close ). In Fiji it remains widespread but at low population density on the larger Fijian islands, favoring the densest old-growth rainforest. In general, it is probably threatened by introduced mongooses and rats, as well as by habitat loss. It is reported to be particularly sensitive to habitat disturbance, disappearing as soon as any logging activity begins and not returning for years.