Pacific Emerald Dove Chalcophaps longirostris Scientific name definitions

23–27 cm; 140–192 g (nominate), 120–172 g (rogersi), 100–128 g (sandwichensis); wingspan 43–46 cm. Male has grey-maroon head and underparts, mantle, scapulars, wing-coverts and inner secondaries iridescent green with prominent white patch on bend of wing; lower back and uppertail-coverts blackish with two grey bands across lower back; tail blackish; underside of wing russet-brown; bill red or orange, legs and feet purplish. Female similar but has grey-brown head and underparts, without purplish tinge; rump and tail dusky brown, not blackish; only a small grey area at bend of wing; bill orange; at least in some races, female is shorter-winged and tailed than male. Juvenile has breast obscurely barred, tips to flight-feathers brown , lacks white wing-patch and has less green in wing; bill black; usually moult direct to adult plumage, but at least some continue to show some speckling or vermiculation on underparts, particularly on lower belly and vent, and bands across back. Races differ slightly in coloration and size, but it has been suggested that all might be united under single name: <em>timorensis</em> generally smaller than nominate, with greyer nape and upper mantle; <em>rogersi</em> is very like nominate longirostris, but male usually less grey on crown to mantle, with a slight slate-blue cast to nape, and neck and underparts are paler and more buffy, while female has brighter rufous rump and tail and a reduced greyish patch on shoulder, and <em>rogersi</em> is shorter-billed and winged, and not as heavy as nominate; and <em>sandwichensis</em> is very similar to previous race, but male is marginally paler on head, has more vinous underparts , and no purplish-blue tones on crown and upper mantle, which are richer maroon-brown, whereas female hardly differs from that of rogersi.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Closely related to C. indica and C. stephani, and hitherto considered conspecific with former, but differs in forehead and supercilium buffy-maroon vs white (3); crown to hindneck poorly defined slaty grey vs sharply defined pale grey (2); white shoulder patches clearly much larger (2); and rusty-rufous in primaries much more pronounced (ns[2]), such that an alternative name for the species might be “Rusty-winged Emerald Dove”. Race rogersi previously listed as “chrysochlora”, but this name apparently based on several different forms of Chalcophaps and lectotypification excludes its application to Australasian populations (1 Schodde, R. and Mason, I.J. (1997). Aves (Columbidae to Coraciidae). In: Houston, W.W.K. & Wells, A. eds. (1997). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 37(2). CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. Close ). Proposed race melvillensis (Melville I, off N Australia) is on average a little paler than mainland longirostris, but differences considered too slight to merit taxonomic recognition. May include C. norfolciensis, a name long used for Columba leucomela, based only on a dubious description; an 18th-century watercolour “discovered” in 1953 showed, however, that this name more probably applied to another bird that occurred on Norfolk I at that time, possibly the present species; the name is almost certainly unidentifiable, and has now been formally suppressed (2 Schodde, R., Bock, W.J. and Steinheimer, F.D. (2007). Stabilising the nomenclature of Australasian birds by invalidation and suppression of disused and dubious names. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 127(4): 268–282. Close , 3 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 , 4 ICZN (2010). Opinion 2251 (Case 3442). Columba norfolciensis Latham, 1801 (Aves, Columbidae): name suppressed. Bull. Zool. Nom. 67(2): 192–93. Close ). Four subspecies recognized.

• Asian x Pacific Emerald Dove (hybrid) Chalcophaps indica x longirostris

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.

Inhabits mainly edges of a wide diversity of forest types and adjacent habitats, including orchards, gardens and coconut plantations near forests; locally mangroves in E Indonesia (5 Trainor, C.R. (2002). An expedition to Damar Island, south-west Maluku, Indonesia. Bull. Oriental Bird Club 36: 18–23. Close , 6 Johnstone, R. E., and S. (B.) van Balen (2013). The birds of the Kai and Tayandu Islands, Maluku region, Indonesia. Western Australian Naturalist 29(1):11–56. Close ) and N Australia. Often tame near human habitation. In Australia, where typically occurs in evergreen rainforests, closed gallery forests, wet sclerophyll forests and monsoon forests, the species seasonally occupies drier and more open habitats, e.g. Acacia harpophylIa–Adansonia gregorii scrub, thickets of Acacia, occasionally in coastal Eucalyptus and Melaleuca woodlands, Callitris scrub. and coastal heaths. Occurs mainly in lowlands and foothills, up to 1300 m on New Guinea. On Santo Is, Vanuatu, sandwichensis is abundant in disturbed forest and forest edge from sea-level up to 400 m but is scarce in primary forest; it is also common in villages there (7 Kratter, A.W., Kirchman, J.J. and Steadman, D.W. (2006). Upland bird communities on Santo, Vanuatu, southwest Pacific. Wilson J. Orn. 118(3): 295–31198. Close ).

Apparently sedentary or locally nomadic in most parts of its range, e.g. in Northern Territory (Australia) common in Jun, but few or none found in Dec. Only vagrant to Victoria and perhaps South Australia. Occasionally appears in suburban areas in New Guinea, also suggesting some degree of dispersal at certain seasons. Has been observed at sea in Torres Strait, but over land generally appears to avoid crossing open country whenever possible. When flushed, flies swiftly and low. Colonized Norfolk I ‘naturally’, with first record in 1908; also possibly Lord Howe I, where definitely recorded in 1869 (possibly 1831), but possibly result of an introduction.

Diet seeds and fruits (e.g. Arecaceae, Cyperaceae, Chrysobalanaceae, Ebenaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Lauraceae, Meliaceae, Mimosaceae, Moraceae, Phytolaccaceae, Rutaceae, Solanaceae, Verbenaceae), with occasional invertebrates (gastropod snails, diptera, hymenoptera). Stomach and crop contents of several individuals from subtropical E Australia contained numerous seeds and fruit residues: of cork passionflower (Passiflora suberosa), coral berry (Rivina humilis), cheese tree (Glochidion ferdinandi), camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora), native peach (Trema tomentosa) and macaranga (Macaranga tanarius). Camphor laurel is an invasive alien but most ingested seeds had been fragmented in the gizzard, suggesting that this dove is not implicated in spreading the plant (8 Gosper, C. R. and Gosper, D. G. (2008). Foods of pigeons and doves in fragmented landscapes of subtropical Eastern Australia. Australian Field Ornithology. 25: 76–86. Close ). Birds in villages on Santo Is, Vanuatu, are attracted to seeds of papaya (Carica papaya), an alien species (7 Kratter, A.W., Kirchman, J.J. and Steadman, D.W. (2006). Upland bird communities on Santo, Vanuatu, southwest Pacific. Wilson J. Orn. 118(3): 295–31198. Close ). Feeds mainly on ground , often under fruiting trees and shrubs, sometimes in trees, occasionally on beaches, in mangroves, on recently burnt areas or around domestic animals, usually foraging solitarily, but occasionally in pairs or small groups of up to 12 individuals.

Differs from C. indica in that songs  generally comprise longer series of more closely spaced notes that start softly and level, but build in both volume and pitch (9 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ). Advertising call of both is a series of low mournful coos, usually given from perch (can be high up), repeated especially frequently in late afternoon and sometimes continuing after nightfall. In race timorensis song may comprise 6–9 coos, each note briefly falling then rising in pitch, each successive notes being slightly higher-pitched; the series may also consist of a hard rolling “crrrr” sound followed by up to seven disyllabic “k-hoooo” notes, with the same pitch pattern as before (10 Coates, B. J., and K. D. Bishop (1997). A Guide to the Birds of Wallacea: Sulawesi, The Moluccas and Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. Dove Publications, Alderley, Queensland, Australia. Close ). On New Guinea, race rogersi gives slow series of up to seven long, forced cooing notes, with a moaning quality, uttered at rate of one per second (11 Pratt, T. K., and B. M. Beehler (2015) Birds of New Guinea. Second edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ). In Melanesia, race sandwichensis gives a mournful, slightly upslurred and rising series of monotonously repeated coos, typically 3–12, sometimes preceded by a short “tk”, which sounds like a sharp intake of breath (12 Dutson, G. (2011). Birds of Melanesia: The Bismarcks, Solomons, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). In Australia (race longirostris), advertising call described as 6–7 moaning coos, starting softly then rising in pitch; also a nasal “hoo-hoo-hoon” (13 Pizzey, G., and F. Knight (1997). Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Angus & Robertson and HarperCollins, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Close ). 

Breeds throughout year, but season differs regionally: in N Australia nests in late dry season and early wet season, and in SE Australia nests in spring and early summer (13 Pizzey, G., and F. Knight (1997). Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Angus & Robertson and HarperCollins, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Close ), but in New South Wales eggs have been recorded in every month except Jun; in breeding condition in Vanuatu in Jul–Oct. Male defends territory immediately around nest from conspecifics. Nest is a thin platform of twigs (once just eight) placed up to 5 m above ground in tree, small leafy bush, sapling, vines, Pandanus spiralis or centre of staghorn fern; nest measures up to c. 30 cm in diameter and 10 cm deep. Clutch two creamy-white eggs  , size 24·8–33 mm × 19·6–22·4 mm, incubated 14–16 days in captivity; young hatch with sparse yellow down, mean mass 6·4 g; no precise information on fledging period or role of sexes, but free-flying young seen c. 5 weeks after eggs laid; in captivity, fledge in c. 3 weeks. Breeding success: of eight nests in Australia, one nest fledged two young, three failed at egg stage, one deserted with eggs missing 17 days after first egg laid, and three outcome unknown. Probably capable of breeding in first year.

Not globally threatened. Adapts readily to secondary forest and edges, and is widespread and common (though inconspicuous) in many areas. Only density estimate available is of 0·4 birds/ha in NE New South Wales (Australia). However, local declines have been noted in some populations e.g. in SE Queensland (Australia) and Norfolk I. Threats include predation by rats and feral cats; species is occasionally hunted for food by humans, especially on islands.