The cloven-feathered dove (''Drepanoptila holosericea'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Drepanoptila'', but this genus is possibly better merged into '' Ptilinopus''.Gibb, G.C., & D. Penny (2010). Two aspects along the continuum of pigeon evolution: A South-Pacific radiation and the relationship of pigeons within Neoaves. Mol Phyl Evol 56(2): 698-706. The cloven-feathered dove is endemic to

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where found in forest and ''

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'' savanna at altitudes up to . It is considered near-threatened by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

due to habitat degradation and hunting.

Distribution and Population

''Drepanoptila holosericea'' is endemic to the island of New Caledonia where it is commonly found in its forest habitat. It is also found south of New Caledonia all throughout Ile des Pins but not the Loyalty Islands. Research groups in 1998 have estimated that 140,000 total individual birds live throughout its total range.

Ecology

The cloven-feathered dove is found commonly in

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and

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moist forests up to 1,000 meters in elevation. It appears to prefer humid forests 400–600 meters in elevation, especially on the forest edge. However, there are little information of the bird's diet. All

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

s have observed is that it does eat multiple different fruits and berries.

Threats

This bird is sparsely hunted because of ammunition quotas, making hunters save their ammunition for larger targets. If these quotas are removed, the dove may be hunted more and could rapidly decline in population, even though this bird is protected by law. Other threats include

forest fire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

s, deforestation, and mining operations.

References

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/factsheet/22691585 {{Taxonbar, from=Q1273333 cloven-feathered dove Endemic birds of New Caledonia cloven-feathered dove Taxonomy articles created by Polbot