Seram mountain pigeon

The Seram mountain pigeon (Gymnophaps stalkeri) is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to Indonesia.

Seram mountain pigeon
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Columbiformes
Family: Columbidae
Genus: Gymnophaps
Species:
G. stalkeri
Binomial name
Gymnophaps stalkeri
Synonyms[2]

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

Taxonomy and systematics

The Seram mountain pigeon was described as Columba stalkeri by the Scottish ornithologist William Ogilvie-Grant in 1911 on the basis of specimens from the Kanobi Mountains on Seram, Indonesia.[3] The generic name Gymnophaps is derived from the Ancient Greek words γυμνος (gumnos), meaning bare, and φαψ (phaps), meaning pigeon. The specific name stalkeri is in honour of Wilfred Stalker, an Australian natural history collector who collected the type specimens of the species on a British Ornithologists' Union expedition.[4] Seram mountain pigeon is the official common name designated by the International Ornithologists' Union.[5] Other common names for the species include Seram mountain-pigeon and Seram long-tailed mountain-pigeon.[6][7]

The Seram mountain pigeon is one of four species in the genus Gymnophaps, forming a superspecies with the other species in its genus.[7] Within its family, the genus Gymnophaps is sister to Lopholaimus, and these two together form a clade sister to Hemiphaga.[8] The Seram mountain pigeon was previously considered to be a subspecies of the Buru mountain pigeon, but was split on the basis of differences in appearance.[9] It has no subspecies.[5]

Description

The Seram mountain pigeon is 33–38.5 cm (13.0–15.2 in) long and weighs 330–338 g (11.6–11.9 oz). [9]

Distribution and habitat

The Seram mountain pigeon is endemic to Seram in the Maluku Islands. It mainly inhabits hill forest at elevations of 400–2,300 m (1,300–7,500 ft), but is typically more common above 1,200 m (3,900 ft). One record of the species found seven individuals at an elevation of 100 m (330 ft).[9][10]

Behaviour and ecology

Diet

The Seram mountain pigeon feeds on fruit. Foraging flocks can have over 20 birds, with some being as large as 50 individuals.[9]

Breeding

The Seram mountain pigeon has been observed making a display flight in February. The display is similar to that of Papuan mountain pigeons, males of which launch themselves upwards from a perch before plummeting down and returning. However, the display of the Seram mountain pigeon is lower and less steep, and it continues flying forward after descending instead of returning to the perch immediately.[10]

Its only known nest was observed in September in primary montane forest at an elevation of 2,300 m (7,500 ft). The nest was placed in a crevice on a dead, mossy branch 2.5 m (8.2 ft) above the ground. It was lined loosely with twigs and moss, and contained a single white egg.[9][11]

References
  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Gymnophaps stalkeri". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2016: e.T45448758A95156213. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T45448758A95156213.en. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  2. "Gymnophaps stalkeri (Seram Mountain-Pigeon)". Avibase. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  3. British Ornithologists' Club (1910). Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 27. London: British Ornithologists' Club. p. 104.
  4. Jobling, James A. (2010). Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 182, 364. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  5. "Pigeons – IOC World Bird List". Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  6. "Gymnophaps stalkeri (Seram Mountain-Pigeon)". Avibase. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  7. Gibbs, David; Barnes, Eustace; Cox, John (2001). Pigeons and Doves: A Guide to the Pigeons and Doves of the World. Pica Press. pp. 578–579. ISBN 978-1-8734-0360-0. OCLC 701718514.
  8. Nowak, Jennifer; Sweet, Andrew; Weckstein, Jason; Johnson, Kevin (2019-08-15). "A molecular phylogenetic analysis of the genera of fruit doves and allies using dense taxonomic sampling". Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin. 42: 2019001. doi:10.21900/j.inhs.v42.93. ISSN 2644-0687.
  9. Baptista, Luis F.; Trail, Pepper W.; Horblit, H.M.; Kirwan, Guy M.; Garcia, Ernest (2020-03-04). Billerman, Shawn M.; Keeney, Brooke K.; Rodewald, Paul G.; Schulenberg, Thomas S. (eds.). "Seram Mountain-Pigeon (Gymnophaps stalkeri)". Birds of the World. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. doi:10.2173/bow.lotmop2.01. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  10. Reeve, Andrew H.; Haryoko, Tri; Poulsen, Michael K.; Fabre, Pierre-Henri; Jønsson, Knud A. (2014-01-01). "New ornithological records from Buru and Seram, south Maluku, Indonesia, 1995–2012". Forktail. 30: 10–22.
  11. Hutchinson, Robert O.; Rheindt, Frank E. (2009). "First Nest and Egg of the Seram Mountain-Pigeon Gymnophaps stalkeri of Maluku". Kukila. 14: 41–43.
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