The metallic pigeon (''Columba vitiensis'') also known as white-throated pigeon, is a medium-sized, up to 37 cm long, bird in the family

Columbidae Columbidae is a bird Family (biology), family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the Order (biology), order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in ...

Identification

The adult has an iridescent purple and green crown, black wing and uppertail coverts, yellowish red

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (given name), a feminine given name, and a list of peopl ...

, yellow

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

, red orbital skin, white or grey chin and ear coverts, and purplish feet. It has a dull chestnut or glossed purple green below, depends on subspecies. The nominate form ''C. v. vitiensis'' from

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

has a dull underparts, while subspecies ''C. v. halmaheira'' of

Maluku Islands The Maluku Islands ( ; , ) or the Moluccas ( ; ) are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia. Tectonics, Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located in West ...

has the most iridescent plumage. Both sexes are similar. The young is duller than adult.

Distribution

The metallic pigeon is distributed to tropical forests of eastern

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

and surrounding southwest

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

islands. A subspecies, the Lord Howe pigeon, used to exist on

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland Port ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, but was exterminated by hunting c. 1853.

Food

The diet consists mainly of various fruits, grains, seeds and berries. The female usually lays one to two eggs.

Conservation

Widespread and common throughout its large range, the metallic pigeon is evaluated as being of Least Concern on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

of Threatened Species.

Gallery

Image:IanthoenasGriseogularisKeulemans.jpg, ''C. vitiensis griseogularis'' Image:Metallic Pigeon RWD7.jpg, At San Diego Zoo Image:LordHoweIslandPigeonByGeorgeRaper.jpg, ''C. vitiensis godmanae'' File:Naturalis Biodiversity Center - Natuurkundige Commissie - Art by Oort, P. van - Bird species - MMNAT01 AF NNM001000177.jpg, ''C. vitiensis metallica''

References

* Higgins, P.J.; & Davies, S.J.J.F. (Eds.). (1996). ''

Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds The ''Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds'', known as ''HANZAB'', is the pre-eminent scientific reference on birds in the region, which includes Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, and the surrounding ocean and subantarctic ...

. Volume 3. Snipe to Pigeons''. Oxford University Press: Melbourne.

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet
{{Taxonbar, from=Q863202 metallic pigeon Birds of Melanesia Birds of the Philippines Birds of Wallacea metallic pigeon Taxa named by Jean René Constant Quoy Taxa named by Joseph Paul Gaimard