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Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon Ducula basilica Scientific name definitions

Josep del Hoyo, Luis F. Baptista, Nigel Collar, Pepper W. Trail, Guy M. Kirwan, H. M. Horblit, and Ernest Garcia
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated February 7, 2019

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Introduction

Taxonomic note: Lump. This account is a combination of multiple species accounts originally published in HBW Alive. That content has been combined and labeled here at the subspecies level. Moving forward we will create a more unified account for this parent taxon. Please consider contributing your expertise to update this account.

Field Identification

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Gray-naped)

c. 36–42 cm. Medium-sized, rather plump and short-tailed imperial-pigeon, with comparatively striking plumage. Head , sides of neck and breast  pale pink; rest of underparts light golden-rufous; hindneck pale bluish grey; mantle, back, rump, uppertail-coverts, wing-coverts and secondaries emerald- or golden-green, with only a small amount of reddish iridescence; primaries and rectrices blackish blue; tail has a broad grey terminal band; iris dark red, orbital skin and eyelids red, bill dusky lead-grey, cere unfeathered, and legs and feet coral-red. Sexes similar, but female has darker vinous head and often lacks reddish-bronze tints on upperparts. Juvenile considered very similar to adult, but rather duller.

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Golden-naped)

c. 36–42 cm. Similar to formerly conspecific D. basilica (see Taxonomy comments) but darker vinous on head, neck and breast, grading into bright rusty-rufous nape, which extends onto neck-sides and breast, surrounding darker blue-grey patch on hindneck; grey apical tailband lacks any iridescence on tip, and rufous of belly and undertail-coverts deeper and also extends onto axillaries and inner underwing-coverts; iris dark crimson, eyelids vermilion, legs and feet vermilion, and bill nearly black.

Systematics History

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Gray-naped)

Hitherto considered conspecific with D. obiensis but differs in its pinkish-white vs grey-pink breast (2); paler rusty belly to vent (subscore 1), black underwing coverts (subscore 2) (total score 3); grey-pink vs pinkish-rufous hindcrown, nape and upper neck-sides (2). Also closely related to D. rufigaster and D. finschii, and all four sometimes considered conspecific. Monotypic.

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Golden-naped)

Hitherto considered conspecific with D. basilica, but differs in its grey-pink vs pinkish-white breast (2); darker rusty belly to vent (subscore 1), this colour extending onto underwing-coverts, which are black in basilica (subscore 2) (total score 3); pinkish-rufous vs grey-pink hindcrown, nape and upper neck-sides, the colour extending farther down onto mantle (in some specimens at least; others unclear) (2). Also closely related to D. rufigaster and D. finschii, and all four sometimes considered conspecific. Monotypic.

Subspecies


EBIRD GROUP (MONOTYPIC)

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Gray-naped) Ducula basilica basilica Scientific name definitions

Distribution

N Moluccas on Morotai, Halmahera, Ternate, Kasiruta and Bacan.

EBIRD GROUP (MONOTYPIC)

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Golden-naped) Ducula basilica obiensis Scientific name definitions

Distribution

Obi, in C Moluccas.

Distribution

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Gray-naped)

N Moluccas on Morotai, Halmahera, Ternate, Kasiruta and Bacan.

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Golden-naped)

Obi, in C Moluccas.

Habitat

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Gray-naped)

Dense primary and selectively logged evergreen forest, as well as wooded cultivation; typically found in midstorey and lower canopy, but also perches on tall emergents overlooking surrounding forest and sometimes occurs in plantations. Occurs from sea-level up to 1040 m on Halmahera ,up to 1000 m on Bacan (1); possibly prefers submontane forests, and on Halamahera is commonest at 150–600 m.

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Golden-naped)

Occurs from 150 m to 1210 m in primary and selectively logged forest, as well as in degraded fragments, suggesting a degree of tolerance of habitat disturbance (2, 3).

Migration Overview

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Gray-naped)

No information available, but presumably resident.

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Golden-naped)

None known, but presumably resident.

Diet and Foraging

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Gray-naped)

No information available on diet, but is usually observed singly or in pairs or small groups foraging in the canopy or subcanopy (1).

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Golden-naped)

No dietary information available. Readily associates with D. perspicillata when feeding, forming groups of 3–6 individuals.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Gray-naped)

Described as unmistakable and is rather vocal throughout the day, but especially during early morning. Calls  include a prolonged, loud, deep growl (lasting c. 3 seconds) preceded by a brief hoarse note, e.g. “wc-wrrrrrrrrrr”, with a disyllabic version of the same call in which the first part is a briefer version of the growl, and ends in a deep, upslurred “whoo” that becomes a growl again before the bird takes flight. Calls are repeated at intervals of up to many minutes, but more usually after 10–15 seconds.

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Golden-naped)

No definite differences from D. basilica: song usually comprises a series of 1–2 (less frequently three) very deep, throaty growls, “roow roooorw-ooow”, at 0·4–0·5 kHz; when first call is short note (of 0·2 seconds), the second is often longer (2–2·5 seconds), whereas when the first is longer (0.8–1.3 seconds), there is no second call or it is often shorter (1·3–1·7 seconds); longer calls typically rise very slightly and end abruptly (3).

Breeding

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Gray-naped)

Nothing known.

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Golden-naped)

Nothing known.

Conservation Status

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Gray-naped)

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). In general, appears to be fairly common to common throughout its limited range, but is uncommon to rare in coastal areas. Total population size unknown but, in 1994, 80,600 individuals were estimated to be present in the 1,060 km² Aketajawe-Lolobata National Park in NE Halmahera (4).

Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Golden-naped)

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Population size unknown, but considered to be stable; the species is reportedly fairly common (2, 3) and a survey in 2010 found no evidence of pigeons being hunted in W of island and central highlands.

Recommended Citation

del Hoyo, J., L. F. Baptista, N. Collar, P. W. Trail, G. M. Kirwan, H. M. Horblit, and E. Garcia (2020). Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-Pigeon (Ducula basilica), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.cbipig2.01
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