Family Pigeons, Doves (Columbidae)
Least Concern
Pied Imperial-pigeon (Ducula bicolor)
Taxonomy
French: Carpophage blanc German: Zweifarben-Fruchttaube Spanish: Dúcula bicolor
Other common names:
Nutmeg Imperial-pigeon
Taxonomy:
Columba bicolor
Scopoli
, 1786,New Guinea
.Distribution:
Coasts and small islands from Andaman and Nicobar Is, W Myanmar, Malay Peninsula, peninsular Thailand and Cambodia S & E through Indonesia and Philippines to W Papuan Is (Salawati, Misool) and coastal Vogelkop (NW New Guinea), and Aru Is.
Descriptive notes
35–42 cm; 365–510 g. Pure white, more or less tinged with yellow, except for black primaries, primary coverts, outer secondaries and tail; black sometimes has... read more
Voice
Diverse. Calls include an occasional low, drawn-out ‘rruuu’; a loud, deep, groaning... read more
Habitat
Coastal forests, mangroves and coconut plantations. Typically nests and roosts on small offshore... read more
Food and feeding
Frugivorous; feeds on a variety of fruits and berries, including wild figs and the large fruits of wild nutmegs (Myristica).... read more
Breeding
Data on seasonality is scanty: breeds Dec–Mar in Andaman and Nicobar Is; half-fledged young collected on Seram in Sept and Nov; all... read more
Movements
Reported to make seasonal movements in some areas, e.g. Wallacea, but detailed information lacking... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Can be locally abundant, e.g. in Manusela National Park (Seram), but highly vulnerable to hunting and disturbance at nesting colonies... read more
Clearly very closely related to D. spilorrhoa, D. subflavescens and D. luctuosa; species limits in this group are unclear, and all four sometimes considered conspecific (a position which the scoring system used herein would seem likely to endorse), while other authors recognize up to five species; further study of genetic, morphological and acoustic details required in order to clarify the situation. There is evidence that nominate bicolor and proposed taxon “melanura“ (sometimes classified as a race of bicolor) occur sympatrically on Kai, Ambon, Bacan, Halmahera and perhaps other islands, which has been interpreted as evidence that the forms are reproductively isolated full species or, conversely, that they are mere colour morphs; latter view followed here, particularly as differences are minor and appear to be individually variable, with many intermediate forms occurring. In past, birds of Moluccas sometimes separated as race siebersi. Monotypic.