Plain Pigeon
Encyclopedia
The Plain Pigeon is a species of bird
in the Columbidae family. It is found in Cuba
, the Dominican Republic
, Haiti
, Jamaica
, and Puerto Rico
. Its natural habitat
s are forest, woodland, coastal desert, mangrove and swampy areas. It is threatened by habitat loss.
, it forms a conspicuous wing bar. Legs and feet are dark red. The female is slightly smaller and duller than the male. Juveniles
are browner overall, with pale wing margins and dark eyes.
of the Red-billed Pigeon
(P. flavirostria) or the Peruvian Pigeon
(P. oenops), found in Central and South America. Three subspecies
of the Plain Pigeon are recognized: P. i. inornata from Cuba and Hispaniola, P. i. exigua from Jamaica, and P. i. wetmorei from Puerto Rico.
. A conservation
program was introduced to save the species and now it numbers a few thousand individuals.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the Columbidae family. It is found in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. Its natural habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s are forest, woodland, coastal desert, mangrove and swampy areas. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Description
The Plain Pigeon is a large-bodied bird (38 cm [15 in]) that superficially resembles the common city pigeon. At a distance it appears pale blue-gray overall. The head, hindneck, breast, and part of the folded wing are colored with a red-wine wash. When folded, the wing shows a white leading edge; in flightFlight
Flight is the process by which an object moves either through an atmosphere or beyond it by generating lift or propulsive thrust, or aerostatically using buoyancy, or by simple ballistic movement....
, it forms a conspicuous wing bar. Legs and feet are dark red. The female is slightly smaller and duller than the male. Juveniles
Juveniles
Juvenile may refer to:* Juvenile * Minor * Children's literature* Children's clothing...
are browner overall, with pale wing margins and dark eyes.
Taxonomy
The Plain Pigeon is thought to represent a fairly recent island adaptationAdaptation
An adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. An adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the dynamic evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation....
of the Red-billed Pigeon
Red-billed Pigeon
The Red-billed Pigeon, Patagioenas flavirostris , is a relatively large pigeon which breeds from southern Texas, United States, and northwestern Mexico south to Costa Rica...
(P. flavirostria) or the Peruvian Pigeon
Peruvian Pigeon
The Maranon Pigeon is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.It is found in Ecuador and Peru.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montanes, and plantations .It is threatened by habitat...
(P. oenops), found in Central and South America. Three subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of the Plain Pigeon are recognized: P. i. inornata from Cuba and Hispaniola, P. i. exigua from Jamaica, and P. i. wetmorei from Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rican Plain Pigeon
During the 1970s, the Puerto Rican Plain Pigeon (P. i. wetmorei) was on the brink of extinctionExtinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally 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 recover may have been lost before this point...
. A conservation
Habitat conservation
Habitat conservation is a land management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore, habitat areas for wild plants and animals, especially conservation reliant species, and prevent their extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range...
program was introduced to save the species and now it numbers a few thousand individuals.