Hello Everybody! Today in addition to the hummingbird blog, I am doing the Rainbow Birds Pigeons blog.
Section 1: Nicobar pigeon Caloenas Nicobarica
The Nicobar Pigeon is a large, mainly ground-dwelling pigeon, and is the only species in it's genus. It does not have natural predators and is isolated on small islands in South East Asia and the Pacific. They are strong fliers, so they have a fairly large range; from the Indian Nicobar Islands, then Eastward to Thailand, Malaysian, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea.
The female Nicobar Pigeon is smaller than the male, and has a white iris, instead of the male's dark brown iris. The juveniles can be recognized by their lack of iridescence, and dark tail.
Nicobar Pigeons are 15-16 inches long, and 21 ounces in weight. These Pigeons move around in flocks during the day. Spending most of their time on the ground. They forage for berries, nuts, seeds, fruits and insects.
The Nicobar Pigeon probably breeds year-round. The nest site is usually in a tree or bush a few yards off the ground. Once the site is chosen, the nest is constructed of a loose and a bit untidy collection of twigs, and is often around other nests in the same tree. The female lays 1 white egg, which is slightly elongated. Both parents incubate, for about two and a half weeks. The chick is fed “pigeon milk” which is a milk made in the crop of the parent from their food. Kind of like a hummingbird feeding her baby nectar, but this is milk. The chick fledges at about 3 months.
Nicobar pigeons are slightly rare throughout their range, but are fairly common on the more smaller and less contacted islands. They prefer to breed in dense colonies on small, wooded,offshore islands, then they forage on the islands or the adjacent mainland in large areas of lowland rainforest. They are usually found at a minimum height of 1,640 feet Above sea level. They are listed on the IUCN Red List as Near Threatened.
Photos: In the nest: By cuatrok77 Pair: By Vassil Male: By Woolie Monster from Houston
Part 2: Superb Fruit-DovePtilinopus Superbus
The Superb Fruit-Dove is a small, colorful pigeon that lives in the tree canopy. They are compact birds with short, rounded wings and a short tail. The male has a purple-pink crown, an orange hindneck, a blue-black breastband that separates the gray-blue breast from the white underparts. Their backs are green with dark barring. The female is green with dark barring, with a gray breast and white underparts. She also has a smaller purple crown. They are also called the Purple-crowned Fruit Dove of Pigeon, or the Superb Fruit-Pigeon.
Superb Fruit-Doves live in the East coast of Australia, in rainforest edges, mangroves, wooded stream edges, and other areas. They may migrate to Papua New Guinea in the winter, but not much is known about their migration. They may sometimes fly south to Tasmania, but not very often.
Superb Fruit-Doves are arboreal, living only in trees. They eat almost exclusively fruit, mainly in large trees. They can open their mouths wide, to eat larger fruits. No wonder they are called Fruit-Doves!
Superb Fruit-Doves build flimsy nests out of twigs in bushy trees, 16-98 feet above the ground. The Female incubates the eggs during the night, while the male does during the day. I don't know how many eggs.