The Kanaka pigeon (''Caloenas canacorum''), also known as the great green pigeon or greater maned pigeon, is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

species of pigeon. It was probably hunted to extinction by the early settlers of

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

and Tonga around 2,500 years ago. It was described from

subfossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...

remains found at the

Pindai Caves The Pindai Caves of New Caledonia are an archaeological and palaeontological site important for the study of prehistoric human settlement as well as of the Holocene fauna of the island. The Pindai area has been occupied by humans for varying perio ...

of New Caledonia. The specific

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

is a Latinisation of ''kanaka'', the name of the native Melanesian people of New Caledonia. It was about 25% larger than its closest living relative, the Nicobar pigeon.

References

Holocene extinctions Caloenas Extinct birds of New Caledonia Birds described in 1989 Taxa named by Jean-Christophe Balouet Late Quaternary prehistoric birds {{Columbiformes-stub