The Seram mountain pigeon (''Gymnophaps stalkeri'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of bird in the pigeon family

Columbidae Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the island of

Seram Seram (formerly spelled Ceram; also Seran or Serang) is the largest and main island of Maluku province of Indonesia, despite Ambon Island's historical importance. It is located just north of the smaller Ambon Island and a few other adjacent is ...

in Indonesia, where it inhabits hill forest. It was long considered to be a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the

Buru mountain pigeon The Buru mountain pigeon (''Gymnophaps mada'') is a species of bird in the pigeon family Columbidae. It is endemic to Indonesia and inhabits montane forest and disturbed lowland forest on Buru. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with th ...

, but was split on the basis of differences in appearance. It is a medium-sized pigeon with a buff-pink face and breast,

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

-pink

underparts Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

, a grey nape, crown, back of neck, and thighs, and dark chestnut belly and underside of the tail. The Seram mountain pigeon feeds on fruit and feeds in flocks of up to 50 birds. The only known nest was observed in September in

old-growth An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

and contained one egg. It is listed as being of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

(IUCN) on the

IUCN Red List 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 biol ...

due to its stable population and sufficiently large range.

Taxonomy and systematics

The Seram mountain pigeon was described as ''Columba stalkeri'' by the Scottish

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

William Ogilvie-Grant in 1911 on the basis of specimens from the Kanobi Mountains on

, Indonesia. It was subsequently merged with the

in the genus ''

Gymnophaps Mountain pigeons are four species of birds in the genus ''Gymnophaps'' in the pigeon family Columbidae. They are found on islands in eastern Indonesia and Melanesia, where they inhabit hill and montane forest. They mostly have dull grey, white, ...

'' by the Australian amateur ornithologist

Gregory Mathews Gregory Macalister Mathews Order of the British Empire, CBE FRSE FZS FLS (10 September 1876 – 27 March 1949) was an Australian-born amateur ornithologist who spent most of his later life in England. Life He was born in Biamble, New South Wal ...

in 1927. It was again split as a distinct species on basis of differences in appearance in 2007 by Frank Rheindt and Robert Hutchinson. The generic name ''Gymnophaps'' is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

words γυμνος (''gumnos''), meaning bare, and φαψ (''phaps''), meaning pigeon. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''stalkeri'' is in honour of Wilfred Stalker, an Australian natural history collector who collected the

type specimens In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes t ...

of the species on a

British Ornithologists' Union The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) aims to encourage the study of birds ("ornithology") and around the world, in order to understand their biology and to aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henry ...

expedition. Seram mountain pigeon is the official

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

designated by the

International Ornithologists' Union The International Ornithologists' Union, formerly known as the International Ornithological Committee, is a group of about 200 international ornithologists, and is responsible for the International Ornithological Congress and other international ...

. Other common names for the species include Seram long-tailed mountain-pigeon. The Seram mountain pigeon is one of four species in the mountain pigeon genus ''Gymnophaps'', which is found in

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...

and the

Maluku Islands The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located eas ...

. It forms a superspecies with the other species in its genus. Within its family, the genus ''Gymnophaps'' is

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

to '' Lopholaimus'', and these two together form a

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

sister to ''

Hemiphaga ''Hemiphaga'' is the genus containing two large species of pigeons from New Zealand. There are two subspecies of New Zealand pigeon, ''Hemiphaga novaseelandiae'': ''H. n. novaseelandiae'' of mainland New Zealand and the Norfolk pigeon (''H. n ...

''. The species has no subspecies.

Description

The Seram mountain pigeon is a medium-sized pigeon that is long and weighs . It has a deep buff-pink face and breast, paler on the chin, changing to

-pink on the

. The thighs are grey and the

nape The nape is the back of the neck. In technical anatomical/medical terminology, the nape is also called the nucha (from the Medieval Latin rendering of the Arabic , "spinal marrow"). The corresponding adjective is ''nuchal'', as in the term ''nu ...

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

, and back of neck are pale, pure blue-grey, while the belly and underside of the tail are dark chestnut with wine-grey fringes to the feathers. The eyes are scarlet to yellow with purplish red to scarlet orbital skin, the bill is yellow with a purple

cere The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for eating, preening, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, ...

, and the legs are purple. Juveniles have browner

upperparts Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

, have browner underparts, and are darker below the tail. They also have dull red orbital skin, dull red legs, and a white-tipped grey bill with a dull red cere. Seram-mountain-pigeon-nest-location

Distribution and habitat

The Seram mountain pigeon is endemic to Seram in the Maluku Islands. It mainly inhabits hill forest at elevations of , but is typically more common above . One record of the species found seven individuals at an elevation of .

Behaviour and ecology

The species is very

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

, frequently being seen in flocks of over 20 birds. It feeds on fruit. Foraging flocks can have over 20 birds, with some being as large as 50 individuals. Seram-mountain-pigeon-egg

Breeding

The Seram mountain pigeon has been observed making a display flight in February. The display is similar to that of Papuan mountain pigeons, males of which launch themselves upwards from a perch before plummeting down and returning. However, the display of the Seram mountain pigeon is lower and less steep, and it continues flying forward after descending instead of returning to the perch immediately. Its only known nest was observed in September in

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

at an elevation of . The nest was placed in a crevice on a dead, mossy branch above the ground. It was lined loosely with twigs and moss, and contained a single white egg.

Status

The Seram mountain pigeon is listed as being of

by the

(IUCN) on the

due to its stable population and sufficiently large range. Its population has not been estimated, but it is reported as being more common than the Buru mountain pigeon is on Buru, and is especially common at altitudes of .

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2940157

Seram mountain pigeon The Seram mountain pigeon (''Gymnophaps stalkeri'') is a species of bird in the pigeon family Columbidae that is endemic to the island of Seram in Indonesia, where it inhabits hill forest. It was long considered to be a subspecies of the Buru m ...

Birds of Seram Endemic fauna of Seram Island Taxa named by William Robert Ogilvie-Grant