The Philippine cuckoo-dove (''Macropygia tenuirostris'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in the Philippines and Taiwan and is rated as a species of least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Endangered Species.

Taxonomy and systematics

The Philippine cuckoo-dove was first described by the French zoologist

Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857), was a French naturalist and ornithologist. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal Lucien Bonaparte. Life and career B ...

in 1854. Formerly, some authorities classified it as a subspecies of either the

ruddy cuckoo-dove The ruddy cuckoo-dove (''Macropygia emiliana'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is a medium-sized, reddish brown cuckoo-dove, found in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. It is rated as a species of least concern on the Internatio ...

or the

brown cuckoo-dove The brown cuckoo-dove (''Macropygia phasianella'') is a dove in the genus ''Macropygia'' found in Australia from Weipa and Aurukun in the north to Bega, New South Wales, Bega in the south, and most inland at Atherton, Queensland, Atherton and Too ...

. It was split from the

slender-billed cuckoo-dove The slender-billed cuckoo-dove (formerly ''Macropygia amboinensis'') was until recently the name of a species of bird in the family Columbidae. Its range covered Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and northern Australia. The binomial ''M. ...

in 2016 and has four sub-species recognized: * ''M. t. phaea'' McGregor, 1904 -

Lanyu Island Orchid Island, also known by other names, is a volcanic island off the southeastern coast of Taiwan Island. The island is part of Taiwan. It is separated from the Batanes of the Philippines by the Bashi Channel of the Luzon Strait. It is gove ...

, Batan Island, and

Calayan Island Calayan Island is located about west-south-west of Babuyan Island off the north coast of the Philippines and belongs to the Babuyan Islands group in the Luzon Strait. The island is hemmed between Aparri and Batanes islands and it is larger than ...

* ''M. t. tenuirostris'' Bonaparte, 1854 - Philippines * ''M. t. borneensis'' Robinson & Kloss, 1921 - Borneo. Provisionally moved from

to ''Macropygia tenuirostris'' by the

IOU An IOU (Abbreviation, abbreviated from the phrase "I owe you") is usually an informal document acknowledging debt. An IOU differs from a promissory note in that an IOU is not a negotiable instrument and does not specify repayment terms such as th ...

. * ''M. t. septentrionalis'' Hachisuka, 1930 - Batan, Itbayat and Sabtan Islands (northern Philippines);

(Taiwan).

Description

The Philippine cuckoo-dove is a large cuckoo-dove that measures in length, and weighs . The head is cinnamon reddish brown in colour, and the uppermantle has an amethyst shine with small brown freckles. The hindneck has an amethyst shine too. The adult has an orange-reddish brown forehead, with a chestnut coloured crown and nape that have pinkish tinge. The irides are red, and the beak is brown. The ear coverts and neck-sides are also orange-reddish brown. The hindneck and breast-sides are shiny pinkish purple, and have black spots. The breast is lightly tinged with lilac. The outer

tail coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are sm ...

are dark reddish brown, with black subterminal bands. The feet are bright red in colour. The adult female has warm buff hindneck which is spotted and barred with black. The mantle and the wing coverts are more reddish brown at peripheries. The juvenile resembles the female in appearance, but is more barred.

Status and conservation

Since 1998, the Philippine cuckoo-dove has been rated as a species of least concern on the

IUCN Red List of Endangered Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

. This is because it has a large range—more than 20,000 km² (7,700 mi²)—and because it has a stable population trend. Also, although its population numbers have not been determined, they are thought to be above 10,000, which is above the criterion to warrant a vulnerable rating. It is reportedly a widespread species. It is thought to have no major threats.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1260427

Philippine cuckoo-dove The Philippine cuckoo-dove (''Macropygia tenuirostris'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in the Philippines and Taiwan and is rated as a species of least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Re ...

Birds of the Philippines

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot