Choiseul Crested Pigeon

Choiseul Crested Pigeon
Conservation status
Extinct (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Columbiformes
Family:	Columbidae
Genus:	Microgoura Rothschild, 1904
Species:	M. meeki
Binomial name
Microgoura meeki (Rothschild, 1904)

The Choiseul Crested Pigeon (Microgoura meeki) is a presumedly extinct pigeon which was only known on the Solomon island of Choiseul in the Pacific. This species was first described by Walter Rothschild in 1904 and named in honour of Albert Stewart Meek. The Choiseul islanders called that species kukuru-ni-lua which means ground pigeon. There is a painting by John Gerrard Keulemans in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

Description

Illustration by J. G. Keulemans

This species had a length of approximately 30 cm, roughly the size of a chicken. On the top of the head was a dark bluish crest similar to the Crowned Pigeons of Papua New Guinea. The forehead and the front of the face were black, the rest of the head was sparsely pinnate with a reddish hue. Mantle and breast had a dark blueish colour with a brown tinge on the lower back.

The wings and the backside were olive brown. The tail was dark brown with a purple hue. The abdomen had a chestnut coloured tone. The upper side of the bill was black, the lower side red. The legs were purplish red. It is not known whether there were differences between the sexes.

Extinction

In 1904 six specimens were shot by Albert Stewart Meek, a bird collector for Lord Walter Rothschild and brought to the Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum at Tring. An egg was also collected.

Because of Rothschild's financial difficulties, five skins were sold to the American Museum of Natural History. On further expeditions in 1927 and 1929, no specimens were found. It is assumed that the Choiseul Crested Pigeon was not only a victim of human hunters, but also fell victim of destruction brought by non-native feral cats and dogs that were introduced to the islands.

References

• BirdLife International (2004). Microgoura meeki. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is listed as extinct
• Errol Fuller (2000). "Extinct Birds", ISBN 0-8160-1833-2
• Flannery, Tim & Schouten, Peter (2001). A Gap in Nature: Discovering the World's Extinct Animals, Atlantic Monthly Press, New York. ISBN 0-87113-797-6.
• David Day (1981). "The Doomsday Book of Animals" , Ebury Press, London.
• Patrick Pikacha: Kuvojo, an endemic Choi ground pigeon in: Solomon Star News, 7 November 2005

External links

• Picture 1
• Picture 2