Lord Howe pigeon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lord Howe pigeon |
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| George Raper's painting of the Lord Howe pigeon, which was used to describe the subspecies | |
| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Columbiformes |
| Family: | Columbidae |
| Genus: | Columba |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: |
C. v. godmanae
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| Trinomial name | |
| Columba vitiensis godmanae Mathews, 1915
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| Synonyms | |
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The Lord Howe pigeon (Columba vitiensis godmanae) was a special type of metallic pigeon that lived only on Lord Howe Island. Sadly, this bird became extinct around the 1850s.
Contents
What Did the Lord Howe Pigeon Look Like?
The Lord Howe pigeon was a beautiful bird. It had a mostly brown body. Its head and chest were a lovely purple color. It also had a clear white patch on its throat.
Where Did the Lord Howe Pigeon Live?
This pigeon lived in trees, especially in thick forests on Lord Howe Island. It was found all over the lower parts of the island. Scientists believe it ate fruits and seeds, just like many other pigeons.
The Pigeon's Discovery and Disappearance
Lord Howe Island was first discovered in 1788. A ship called the Lady Penrhyn stopped there that same year. People from the ship wrote about the birds they found. They collected many Lord Howe pigeons to eat.
Why Was it Easy to Catch Them?
The pigeons on the island were very tame. This meant they were not afraid of humans. This made it very easy for people to catch them. Captain Thomas Gilbert, from another ship called the Charlotte, caught many pigeons. He even wrote that he caught almost all the birds he found. He would break a bird's leg and leave it to cry out. Other pigeons would then come to see what was happening, making them easy to catch too.
The Only Pictures of the Bird
In 1790, a young sailor named George Raper painted a picture of the Lord Howe pigeon. Raper had never been to Lord Howe Island himself. But he likely saw pigeons that were brought onto his ship, HMS Sirius. This painting, and one other, are the only real proof we have that the bird existed. This is because no actual bird bodies or skins were ever saved before the pigeon disappeared.
When Did the Pigeon Go Extinct?
Dr. Foulis, who lived on Lord Howe Island from 1844 to 1847, said the pigeon was the only valuable bird there. At that time, only 16 people lived on the island. However, the Lord Howe pigeon soon became extinct.
The species died out in the mid-1800s. Most people believe that hunting by humans caused its extinction. The last time anyone saw a Lord Howe pigeon was in 1853.
In 1915, a scientist named Gregory Mathews officially described the species. He used Raper's painting as his guide. He first named it Raperia godmanae after Alice Mary Godman. Later, it was reclassified as a subspecies of the Columba vitiensis.
