Nicobar pigeon

This is a large pigeon. It lives on many small islands. Its feathers look green and shiny.

The bird has a white tail. This tail helps the group fly together. It acts like a light.

These birds eat seeds and fruit. They also eat buds. A small stone in their belly helps them grind hard food.

They like to sleep on tiny islands. This keeps them safe from danger. They fly high over the sea.

Some pigeons are gone now. One was the famous dodo. The Nicobar pigeon is a special bird to see.

The Nicobar pigeon is a large, colorful bird. It lives on many small islands. These islands are in places like India and Indonesia.

Its feathers are a shiny metallic green. In dim light, they may look black. The bird has a grey head. Its neck has long feathers called hackles. These hackles are green and copper. The tail is short and pure white.

When these birds fly, they stay in a line. They fly high over the sea. The white tail acts like a taillight. It helps the group stay together. Young birds do not have white tails. This tells adults they are not yet grown.

These pigeons eat fruit, seeds, and buds. They have a gizzard stone in their belly. This stone helps them grind up hard food.

Some of its relatives are gone forever. The famous dodo was a close relative. The Nicobar pigeon is also a relative of the extinct Rodrigues solitaire. Today, these birds are near threatened. This means they might face danger soon. They are losing the forest places where they nest.

The Nicobar pigeon is a large and beautiful bird. It lives on small islands and coastal areas. These places stretch from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India through Indonesia to the Solomon Islands. This bird is very special to scientists. It is the only living member of its genus, which is a group of related animals. It is also the closest living relative to the famous extinct dodo.

This bird has a very unique look. Its feathers are a metallic green that can look black in low light. The head is grey, and the neck has long feathers called hackles. These hackles are green and copper. The tail is short and pure white. Males weigh between 460 and 525 grams. Females are slightly larger, weighing 490 to 600 grams. They also have shorter hackles and browner underparts.

People have studied this bird for a long time. In 1738, a naturalist named Eleazar Albin wrote about them. Later, in 1758, Carl Linnaeus gave them a scientific name. In 1840, George Robert Gray created the genus Caloenas. There are two subspecies of this bird. One lives in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Malay Archipelago. The other, called C. n. pelewensis, lives on Palau Island. The Palau birds are slightly smaller.

Nicobar pigeons have interesting ways of living. They fly in columns or single file rather than loose flocks. They fly high, at least 60 meters above the sea. The white tail acts like a taillight to help the group stay together. They eat seeds, fruit, and buds. To help digest this, they use a gizzard stone to grind hard food. They often sleep on islands where there are no predators. They build loose stick nests in trees in dense forests.

Today, these birds face many hard jobs. They are considered a near threatened species. People hunt them for food and for their gizzard stones. They are also caught for the pet market. Their nesting homes are also disappearing. Forests are being cut down for plantations or destroyed by building. New animals are also being brought to their islands. This makes it harder for the pigeons to stay safe.

The Nicobar pigeon, known scientifically as Caloenas nicobarica, is a large and striking bird. It is a unique member of the pigeon family, called Columbidae. This species is currently the only living member of its genus, Caloenas. It is also considered the closest living relative to the extinct dodo and the Rodrigues solitaire. These extinct birds belonged to a group called the Raphinae. While some studies suggest this connection is a possibility, others use genetic data to show the Nicobar pigeon belongs to a diverse group of birds from the Indopacific region.

This bird has a very distinct appearance. Its plumage is a metallic green that can appear black in dim light. The head and upper neck are grey, but the neck features long feathers called hackles. These hackles are green and copper in color. One of its most notable features is a short, pure white tail. The bill is dark with a small blackish knob called a cere. Its legs and feet are a dull red color.

There is some difference between males and females. Males typically weigh between 460 and 525 grams. Females are slightly larger, weighing between 490 and 600 grams on average. Females also have a smaller bill knob and shorter neck hackles. They tend to have browner underparts than the males. Immature birds look quite different because they lack iridescence and have black tails. There are also two recognized subspecies. The first, C. n. nicobarica, lives across the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Malay Archipelago. The second, C. n. pelewensis, lives on Palau Island and is slightly smaller with shorter neck hackles.

Scientists have been documenting this bird for centuries. In 1738, the naturalist Eleazar Albin provided a description and illustrations of the species. In 1758, Carl Linnaeus included the bird in his Systema Naturae. He originally placed it in the genus Columba. Later, in 1840, the zoologist George Robert Gray established the genus Caloenas. The Nicobar pigeon serves as the type species for this genus. Research suggests this bird is distinct from all other living lifeforms since the Eocene epoch. This period occurred between 56 and 34 million years ago.

Nicobar pigeons have specific ways of moving and eating. They eat seeds, fruit, and buds. To help digest these hard items, they use a gizzard stone to grind the food. When they fly, they do not move in loose flocks. Instead, they fly in columns or single file. They usually fly at least 60 meters above the sea surface. The white tail acts like a taillight to help the group stay together during flight. This is especially helpful when they cross the sea at dawn or dusk.

These birds live in many coastal regions and small islands. Their range includes the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Vietnam. They are also found in the Philippines and the Solomon Islands. They often sleep on offshore islets to stay safe from predators. In these islands, they build loose stick nests in trees within dense forests. They lay a single elliptical egg that is white with a faint blue tinge. Interestingly, they have been spotted far from home, such as in the Kimberley region of Australia.

The future of the Nicobar pigeon is a concern for conservationists. The IUCN lists the species as near threatened. They are hunted for food and for their gizzard stones, which are used in jewelry. They are also caught for the pet market, though international trade is prohibited by CITES Appendix I. Their natural habitats are also under pressure. Offshore islets are often lost to logging, construction, or pollution. Additionally, increased travel brings new predators to their breeding sites. These factors combined put the long-term survival of the species in jeopardy.