Tooth-billed Pigeon
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| Didunculus strigirostris (Jardine, 1845) |
The Tooth-billed Pigeon, Didunculus strigirostris, also known as Samoan Pigeon is a medium-sized, approximately 34 cm long, dark green pigeon with red bare skin around eye, chestnut wings, dark red feet and dark brown upperparts plumage. It has a large, curved and hooked orange bill with tooth-like projections on lower mandible. Both sexes are similar, but the juvenile is duller with a dark bill.
The only extant member in the monotypic genus Didunculus, the Tooth-billed Pigeon is confined to undisturbed forests of Samoa in the Pacific. It feeds almost exclusively on the fruits of Dysoxylum, a tree in the mahogany family.
The Tooth-billed Pigeon is the national bird of Samoa and is locally known as the Manumea.
The Tooth-billed Pigeon has no close living relative, and may represent a link between the pigeons and the extinct Dodo (Didunculus means "little Dodo"). The jaw and tongue structure, and the superficially parrot-like bill have suggested a relationship to the parrots, but these features have arisen from its specialised diet rather than any real relationship.
Due to ongoing habitat loss, limited range, small population size and occasional natural disasters, the Tooth-billed Pigeon is evaluated as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Didunculus strigirostris. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 1 November 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is endangered
- Gibbs, Barnes and Cox, Pigeons and Doves (Pica Press 2001) ISBN 1-873403-60-7
