Micronesian Imperial-Pigeon Ducula oceanica Scientific name definitions

41–46 cm; 340–406 g. Upperparts blackish with a greenish blue sheen; head, neck and breast grey, and the abdomen and undertail-coverts rufous brown; adults have an enlarged horn-like black cere; legs reddish black. Female slightly smaller. Juvenile resembles adult, but paler overall, with darker legs and lacking enlarged cere; very young birds have brownish back plumage and rusty edges to the wing feathers. Races separated mainly on size; race <em>monacha</em> has paler grey head, neck and brest.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Advertising call is an accelerating series of 5–9 raspy, growling notes that gradually become shorter, “grrow..grrow..grow.grow.grw.gr.gr”, or alternatively a series of fewer similar barks at stable pace. A single low-pitched hoot has also been recorded.

Thought to occur all year round, but little precise information available. Nest constructed of loose twigs and placed in the fork of a branch in a tall tree. Lays 1 egg.

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. It occurs in the Micronesian islands of Palau, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae (Federated States of Micronesia), including many small offshore islands. The species may have been introduced to Yap from Palau some time after the mid-19th century. There were estimated to be 13,718 birds on Palau in 1991 (3 Engbring, J. (1992). A 1991 Survey of the Forest Birds of the Republic of Palau. US Fish & Wildlife Service Report, Honolulu, Hawaii. Close ), and 572 on Yap, 51 on Chuuk, 822 on Pohnpei, 7,474 on Kosrae in 1983-1984 (4 Engbring, J., Ramsey, F.L. and Wildman, V.J. (1990). Micronesian Forest Bird Surveys, the Federated States: Pohnpei, Kosrae, Chuuk, and Yap. United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C. & Honululu. Close ) (Engbring 1990). However, numbers on Pohnpei are known to have declined by about 70% between 1983 and 1994 (5 Buden, D.W. (2000). A comparison of 1983 and 1994 bird surveys of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. Wilson Bulletin 112(3):403–410. Close ) and the Palau population declined by 40% between 1991 and 2005, with further declines thereafter. The population on Chuuk is now critically endangered or possibly extinct. The species persists in the uplands of Nauru, where there were an 75–100 individuals in 2006–2007 (6 Buden, D. W. (2008). The Birds of Nauru. Notornis. 55(1): 8-19. Close ). However, it is probably extinct on Kiribati and many of the Marshall Islands (7 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 ), although c. 80 were present in the Marshall Islands in 2011.

This traditional quarry species is most threatened by hunting pressure and on some islands at least it commonest in remote areas far from human populations. Local hunting laws provide some theoretical protection throughout its range, but there is little effective enforcement. Habitat loss from deforestation as land is claimed for agriculture also poses a long-term threat to its survival.