The barking imperial pigeon (''Ducula latrans''), also known as Peale's imperial pigeon, is a species of bird in the pigeon
family Columbidae. It is
endemic to
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
, where it occurs on most of the medium and large islands.
Its natural
habitats are mature tropical moist lowland
forests and tropical moist
montane forest. The species is one of two imperial-pigeons found in Fiji; the other, the
Pacific imperial pigeon
The Pacific imperial pigeon (''Ducula pacifica'') is a widespread species of pigeon in the family Columbidae. It is found in American Samoa, the Cook Islands, the smaller islands of eastern Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, the smaller satellite islands of ...
, is found on smaller islands.
Description
The barking imperial pigeon is frugivorous, feeding on large fruits of the ''
Cananga
''Cananga'' (ultimately from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *''kanaŋa'') is a small genus of trees in the family Annonaceae, native to Indo-China and Malesia, but introduced elsewhere. One of its species, '' Cananga odorata'', is important as the s ...
'', ''
Dysoxylum'' and ''
Myristica'' (nutmegs). It feeds alone or in pairs, occasionally occurring in small flocks on fruiting trees. The breeding season of this species is from May to January, with a single egg being laid on an insubstantial twig
nest. These birds are typically 40-44cm. The upper parts of this bird are grey. The upper wings and upper tail are a darker shade of brown. It has a black bill and the eyes are purple and red. Additionally, the bird got its name because it known to make loud barking "u-oo" in long series. Also, they make a "raa" noise. These calling are often associated with mating. Due to human hunting and interference the habitat for this bird is being put in danger and there has been a decline in the population of these birds!
References
* BirdLife International 2004
barking imperial pigeon
Endemic birds of Fiji
barking imperial pigeon
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Taxa named by Titian Peale
{{Columbiformes-stub