Papuan mountain pigeon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Papuan mountain pigeon |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Columbiformes |
| Family: | Columbidae |
| Genus: | Gymnophaps |
| Species: |
G. albertisii
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| Binomial name | |
| Gymnophaps albertisii Salvadori, 1874
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| Synonyms | |
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The Papuan mountain pigeon (Gymnophaps albertisii) is a type of bird in the pigeon family, called Columbidae. You can find it in places like the Bacan Islands, New Guinea, the D'Entrecasteaux Islands, and the Bismarck Archipelago. It lives in thick, old forests, mountain forests, and lower lands.
This pigeon is a medium-sized bird. It is about 33–36 centimeters (13–14 inches) long and weighs around 259 grams (9.1 ounces). Adult males have dark grey upper parts, with a reddish-brown throat and belly. Their chest is whitish, and their tail has a light grey band at the end. The skin around their eyes and near their beak is bright red. Females look similar, but their chest is more grayish, and their throat feathers have grey edges.
The Papuan mountain pigeon mainly eats fruit, like figs and other small, fleshy fruits. It builds its nest from sticks and twigs in a tree or sometimes on the ground in dry grass. It lays only one egg. These pigeons are very social and usually fly in groups of 10 to 40 birds. Sometimes, a group can have as many as 80 pigeons. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists this bird as a species of least concern. This means it is not currently at risk of disappearing, because it lives in a large area and its numbers are stable.
Contents
About the Papuan Mountain Pigeon
The Papuan mountain pigeon was first described in 1874 by an Italian scientist named Tommaso Salvadori. He gave it the scientific name Gymnophaps albertisii. The name Gymnophaps comes from ancient Greek words meaning 'bare' and 'pigeon'. The name albertisii honors Luigi D'Albertis, an Italian botanist and zoologist who worked in New Guinea.
This pigeon is one of four species in the Gymnophaps group, also known as mountain pigeons. These birds live in Melanesia and the Maluku Islands. The Papuan mountain pigeon has two main types, called subspecies:
- G. a. albertisii: This is the most common type. It lives on islands like Yapen, New Britain, New Ireland, Fergusson Island, Goodenough Island, and in the mountains of New Guinea.
- G. a. exsul: This type is found on the Bacan Islands. These birds are usually larger and darker than the albertisii type. Their heads are completely grey, unlike the males of the other type, which have reddish-brown chins and throats.
What Does the Papuan Mountain Pigeon Look Like?
The Papuan mountain pigeon is a medium-sized bird, about 33–36 cm (13–14 in) long. It weighs around 259 g (9.1 oz). It looks slender with a long tail and wings.
Adult males of the common type have a slate-grey head and upper body. Their throat and belly are a reddish-brown color, and their chest is whitish. The feathers under their tail are grey. The tail also has a light grey band at the very end. The skin around their eyes and near their beak is bright red. Their beak is pink with a reddish base, and their feet are purplish to pinkish-red.
Females might have a more grayish chest and grey edges on their throat feathers. Young pigeons are duller in color. They have dull brown or grey chests, light reddish-brown underparts, and reddish-brown foreheads.
Another bird, the Pinon's imperial pigeon, looks a bit like a young Papuan mountain pigeon. However, the Pinon's imperial pigeon is bigger and has a darker beak. Also, the red skin around its eyes does not extend to the area near its beak.
Pigeon Sounds
The Papuan mountain pigeon is usually quiet. But during the breeding season, it makes a soft, low-pitched sound like wooooooo m or woom. It can also make quiet whistling sounds.
Where Do Papuan Mountain Pigeons Live?
You can find the Papuan mountain pigeon in New Guinea, on islands around it, and on the Bacan Islands. It mostly lives in thick, old forests in hills and mountains. Sometimes, it visits lower areas and can even be common near the sea in some places.
The common type of this pigeon lives at different heights, from sea level up to about 3,350 meters (10,990 feet). The exsul type, however, lives in mountain forests at heights of 900–1,500 meters (3,000–4,900 feet). One dead Papuan mountain pigeon was found very high up, at 4,450 meters (14,600 feet), on the Carstensz Glacier. Scientists think it was flying across the New Guinea Highlands.
These pigeons might move around depending on the season. Large groups in the Schrader Range fly down to visit beech forests during the rainy season, from October to March. They also move to lower areas when they are looking for food.
How Papuan Mountain Pigeons Live
The Papuan mountain pigeon is a very social bird. It usually lives in groups of 10–40 birds, but some groups can have up to 80 individuals. Sometimes, you might see them alone or in pairs, but that's less common.
These pigeons usually sleep at high elevations. In the morning, they fly down in groups to lower areas. When they fly down, they can drop hundreds of meters in a single dive. This creates a loud whooshing sound, which is a special sound of these mountain pigeons. When leaving their sleeping spots, groups fly just above the treetops. But when they cross open lowlands, they fly much higher, sometimes so high that they are hard to see.
What Papuan Mountain Pigeons Eat
The Papuan mountain pigeon eats only fruit. It enjoys fruits like figs and other small, fleshy fruits from plants such as Planchonella, Ascarina philippinensis, and Cryptocarpa tessalata. They have also been seen eating fruits from Elmerrillia tsiampaca. These pigeons might help spread the seeds of this plant.
They prefer fruits with larger seeds. Fruits from the Lauraceae family are an important part of their diet. They will fly long distances to find plants that are fruiting. They look for food in the tops of trees. They have also been seen drinking from puddles on roadsides and even eating soil.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Male Papuan mountain pigeons have been seen performing special display flights from July to December, and also in April. One or two males will join a female on a high branch that looks over a steep drop. Then, one male will launch himself and dive down. He will suddenly rise 25–30 meters (82–98 feet) above the forest trees, flapping his wings very fast. The male then stops at the top of his rise and drops down again before returning to his branch. They repeat this, with both males taking turns to show off to the female. This display has only been seen in the early morning and late afternoon.
The Papuan mountain pigeon breeds from October to March in the Schrader Range. However, a young pigeon and an adult male ready to breed were found in June in other areas. This suggests that these birds might breed all year round in different parts of their home range.
They are thought to nest in groups. Early in the wet season, they build nests in low, protected areas. But towards the end of the wet season, they nest in higher, more open spots. The nest is usually a flat platform made of sticks and twigs. It is built on a small tree, about 3.7–5 meters (12–16 feet) high. Sometimes, they build nests even higher. One nest was even found on the ground, in a small dip in short dry grass, above the tree line. The female lays a single white egg.
Natural Enemies
A study in 2021 looked for tiny bugs called quill mites on Papuan mountain pigeons but found none. However, these pigeons can have a type of feather louse called Columbicola galei in New Guinea. The pygmy eagle might also hunt these pigeons.
Conservation Status
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the Papuan mountain pigeon as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List. This means it is not currently in danger of disappearing. This is because it lives in a very large area, and its population numbers are not dropping much.
We don't know the exact number of these pigeons, but their population is thought to be stable. They are found widely and are common in New Guinea, though their numbers can change a lot in different local areas. They are generally not common on New Britain and New Ireland. However, they seem to be very common in lowland forests and newer forests on New Britain. The exsul type from Bacan is thought to be uncommon, and we don't know its current situation. People in New Guinea sometimes hunt these pigeons.
 | Mary Eliza Mahoney |
 | Susie King Taylor |
 | Ida Gray |
 | Eliza Ann Grier |
