Goura (genus)

Goura (genus)
For other uses, see Goura (disambiguation).
Goura
Victoria Crowned Pigeon
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Columbiformes
Family: Columbidae
Genus: Goura
Stephens, 1819

The genus Goura consists of three species of crowned pigeons. They are the largest non-extinct members of the pigeon family. The three crowned pigeons are alike and replace each other geographically. The genus was described by James Francis Stephens in 1819.

The phylogeny of the crowned pigeons is not well resolved. Several molecular analyses have been conducted (e.g. Johnson & , 2000), with one (Shapiro et al., 2002) suggesting that along with the Nicobar Pigeon and the Tooth-billed Pigeon of Samoa, the three Goura pigeons belong to a group of which the infamous Dodo and the Rodrigues Solitaire are an offshoot lineage, but depending on which genetic sequence is analyzed, the placement of the crowned pigeon differs. They might belong to the Treroninae subfamily of the fruit-doves, but usually they are treated as a subfamily of their own, the Gourinae.

Crownedpigeon.JPG

They are natives of New Guinea and a few surrounding islands. They forage on the forest floor eating fallen fruit, seeds and snails. The males and females are almost identical, but during courtship the male will coo and bow for the female. Both parents incubate one egg for 28 to 30 days and the chick takes another 30 days to fledge. The life span can be over 20 years.

Species

References

  • Johnson, Kevin P. & Clayton, Dale H. (2000): Nuclear and Mitochondrial Genes Contain Similar Phylogenetic. Signal for Pigeons and Doves (Aves: Columbiformes). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 14(1): 141–151. PDF fulltext
  • Shapiro, Beth; Sibthorpe, Dean; Rambaut, Andrew; Austin, Jeremy; Wragg, Graham M.; Bininda-Emonds, Olaf R. P.; Lee, Patricia L. M. & Cooper, Alan (2002): Flight of the Dodo. Science 295: 1683. doi:10.1126/science.295.5560.1683 (HTML abstract) Supplementary information

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Goura — may refer to:* Goura (genus), a genus of doves * Goura, Greece, a place in Corinthia, Greece * Goura, Cameroon, a place in Centre Province, Cameroon * Goura (musical instrument), a mouth blown stringed musical instrument …   Wikipedia

  • Goura — Gou ra, n. (Zo[ o]l.) One of several species of large, crested ground pigeons of the genus {Goura}, inhabiting New Guinea and adjacent islands. The Queen Victoria pigeon ({Goura Victoria}) and the crowned pigeon ({G. coronata}) are among the best …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Goura Victoria — Goura Gou ra, n. (Zo[ o]l.) One of several species of large, crested ground pigeons of the genus {Goura}, inhabiting New Guinea and adjacent islands. The Queen Victoria pigeon ({Goura Victoria}) and the crowned pigeon ({G. coronata}) are among… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • goura — Queen Queen, n. [OE. quen, quene, queen, quean, AS. cw[=e]n wife, queen, woman; akin to OS. qu[=a]n wife, woman, Icel. kv[=a]n wife, queen, Goth. q[=e]ns. [root]221. See {Quean}.] 1. The wife of a king. [1913 Webster] 2. A woman who is the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • goura — noun Any of several crested ground dwelling pigeons, of the genus Goura, from New Guinea …   Wiktionary

  • G coronata — Goura Gou ra, n. (Zo[ o]l.) One of several species of large, crested ground pigeons of the genus {Goura}, inhabiting New Guinea and adjacent islands. The Queen Victoria pigeon ({Goura Victoria}) and the crowned pigeon ({G. coronata}) are among… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Columbidae — Pigeon and Dove redirect here. For other uses, see Pigeon (disambiguation) and Dove (disambiguation). For pigeon species familiar to people around the world, see Feral Pigeon, Domestic Pigeon, and Rock Pigeon. For English Alternative Rock band,… …   Wikipedia

  • Southern Crowned Pigeon — Taxobox name = Southern Crowned Pigeon image width = 225px image caption = Goura scheepmakeri sclateri status = VU | status system = IUCN3.1 trend = down regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves ordo = Columbiformes familia = Columbidae …   Wikipedia

  • A Chamaepitys — ground ground (ground), n. [OE. ground, grund, AS. grund; akin to D. grond, OS., G., Sw., & Dan. grund, Icel. grunnr bottom, Goth. grundus (in composition); perh. orig. meaning, dust, gravel, and if so perh. akin to E. grind.] 1. The surface of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Arctomys monax — ground ground (ground), n. [OE. ground, grund, AS. grund; akin to D. grond, OS., G., Sw., & Dan. grund, Icel. grunnr bottom, Goth. grundus (in composition); perh. orig. meaning, dust, gravel, and if so perh. akin to E. grind.] 1. The surface of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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