Finsch's Imperial-Pigeon Ducula finschii Scientific name definitions

35–38 cm; 383 g. Head, neck , upper mantle and upper breast pale bluish grey washed pink; white ring around eye; primaries bluish black; tail bluish black with broad white subterminal band and narrower green terminal bar; remainder of upperparts emerald or golden green with bronzy iridescence on mantle; underparts rufous; iris red, bill black, legs red. Sexes rather similar but female tends to be darker grey on head, with grey wash on breast. Juvenile not described.

Lowland, foothill and lower montane forest, up to c. 1500 m. However, this readily detectable species has been described as uncommon to rare in the mountains of West New Britain, as implied by the complete lack of records from both the Whiteman Range and Mt Talawe, and appears to be primarily confined there to lowland and foothill forests below 600 m. (1 Bishop, K. D., and D. N. Jones (2001). The montane avifauna of west New Britain, with special reference to the Nakanai Mountains. Emu 101(3):205–220. Close )

No information available.

Frugivorous; no other information available.

Not well documented. Only vocalization recorded is a repeated, slightly burry, low-pitched overslurred hoot, “rrhooOOooh” (likened to the whistle of a steam train, but not always safely separated from sympatric D. rubricera).

No information available.

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. The population is estimated at 15,000–30,000 birds. Species is very little known and apparently rare; reported to be locally frequent in low hills of New Britain and New Hanover. It is suspected to have declined rapidly in recent years owing to ongoing clearance of lowland forest, especially by its replacement with oil palm plantations on New Britain (2 Buchanan, G.M., Butchart, S.H.M., Dutson, G.C.L., Pilgrim, J.D., Steininger, M.K., Bishop, K.D. and Mayaux, P. (2008). Using remote sensing to inform conservation status assessment: estimates of recent deforestation rates on New Britain and the impacts upon endemic birds. Biological Conservation. 141(1): 56–66. Close ). Extensive research required; surveys also needed in order to establish true status.