The Ryukyu wood pigeon (''Columba jouyi''), otherwise known as the silver-banded or silver-crescented pigeon is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the

Columba Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey ...

genus 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 ...

. This wood pigeon was

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

Laurel forest Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and el ...

habitat.

Generality

It is an

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

pigeon Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

that was

to islands in the Okinawa archipelago southwest of the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese mainland. In the Okinawa group, it has been recorded from Iheyajima, Izenajima, Okinawa proper and the nearby islet Yagachijima. In the Kerama Retto to the west of Okinawa, it was found on Zamamijima, whereas in the Daitō group, some 300 km to the SE of Okinawa, it occurred on both major islets, Kita Daitōjima and Minami Daitōjima. In earlier times, it was most likely found on other islands near Okinawa, such as Iejima. The species' scientific name honors Stejneger's friend, the specimen collector Pierre Louis Jouy.

Extinction

Like all species of Japanese wood pigeons, the Ryukyu wood pigeon was susceptible to

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

. It required substantial areas of undisturbed subtropical forest to thrive. Iejima, for example, was deforested for settlement and agriculture even before scientific exploration began, which explains the absence of records from this island. The species was last recorded on Okinawa in 1904, probably succumbing to hunting. In the Daitō group, it disappeared after 1936 due to these small islands being completely deforested by settlement and construction activity prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was presumed to continue to exist on the outlying islands in the Okinawa group, but has never been found again. Theoretically, there is sufficient habitat remaining in the mountains of Okinawa. The military activity during World War II and hunting by the Japanese garrison would probably have yielded sightings, if birds still had existed there. More puzzling is the absence of ''any'' records from Tokashikijima in the Kerama Retto, which, despite being small, has still mostly intact forest cover even today; Zamamijima, where the species is known to have occurred is smaller still and situated further away from the Okinawan mainland.

References

* Stejneger, Leonhard Hess (1887): Description of a New Species of Fruit-Pigeon (''Janthoenas jouyi'') from the Liu Kiu Islands, Japan. '' Am. Nat.'' 21(6): 583–584.

External links

Ryukyu Wood Pigeon pictures.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q714093 Columba (genus) Endemic birds of Japan Extinct birds of Asia Bird extinctions since 1500 Extinct animals of Japan Endemic fauna of the Ryukyu Islands Birds of the Ryukyu Islands Birds described in 1887