Southern Crowned Pigeon
Encyclopedia
The Southern Crowned Pigeon, Goura scheepmakeri, is a large, terrestrial pigeon confined to southern lowland
forests of New Guinea
. It has a bluish-grey plumage with elaborate blue lacy crests, red iris
and very deep maroon breast. Both sexes have a similar appearance. It is on average 70 cm (28 in) long and weighs 2,250 grams (5 lbs).
There are two subspecies of the Southern Crowned Pigeon, differentiated by their shoulder and belly colorations. Goura scheepmakeri sclateri of southwest New Guinea with maroon shoulders and blue-grey belly, and the nominate race Goura scheepmakeri scheepmakeri of southeast New Guinea with blue-grey shoulders and maroon below. It also looks very similar to its relatives, the Victoria Crowned Pigeon
, and the Western Crowned Pigeon
.
This species was first discovered new to science by Otto Finsch
who found a live bird received from the dealer C. Scheepmaker in Amsterdam Zoo
and named it after him.
Being tame and heavily hunted for its meat and plumes, the Southern Crowned Pigeon is evaluated as Vulnerable
on the IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species. It is listed in Appendix II of CITES.
Lowland
In physical geography, a lowland is any broad expanse of land with a general low level. The term is thus applied to the landward portion of the upward slope from oceanic depths to continental highlands, to a region of depression in the interior of a mountainous region, to a plain of denudation, or...
forests of New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. It has a bluish-grey plumage with elaborate blue lacy crests, red iris
Iris (anatomy)
The iris is a thin, circular structure in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupils and thus the amount of light reaching the retina. "Eye color" is the color of the iris, which can be green, blue, or brown. In some cases it can be hazel , grey, violet, or even pink...
and very deep maroon breast. Both sexes have a similar appearance. It is on average 70 cm (28 in) long and weighs 2,250 grams (5 lbs).
There are two subspecies of the Southern Crowned Pigeon, differentiated by their shoulder and belly colorations. Goura scheepmakeri sclateri of southwest New Guinea with maroon shoulders and blue-grey belly, and the nominate race Goura scheepmakeri scheepmakeri of southeast New Guinea with blue-grey shoulders and maroon below. It also looks very similar to its relatives, the Victoria Crowned Pigeon
Victoria Crowned Pigeon
The Victoria Crowned Pigeon, Goura victoria, is a large, bluish-grey pigeon with elegant blue lace-like crests, maroon breast and red iris. The bird may be easily recognized by the unique white tips on its crests. Both sexes are similar. It is on average 74 cm long and weighs 2,384 grams...
, and the Western Crowned Pigeon
Western Crowned Pigeon
The Western Crowned Pigeon, also known as the Common Crowned Pigeon or Blue Crowned Pigeon, Goura cristata, is a large, blue-grey pigeon with blue lacy crests over the head and dark blue mask feathers around its eyes. Both sexes are almost similar but males are often larger than females...
.
This species was first discovered new to science by Otto Finsch
Otto Finsch
Friedrich Hermann Otto Finsch was a German ethnographer, naturalist and colonial explorer.-Biography:...
who found a live bird received from the dealer C. Scheepmaker in Amsterdam Zoo
Artis
Artis, short for Natura Artis Magistra , is a zoo in the centre of Amsterdam. It is the oldest zoo in the Netherlands...
and named it after him.
Being tame and heavily hunted for its meat and plumes, the Southern Crowned Pigeon is evaluated as Vulnerable
Vulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
on the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
of Threatened Species. It is listed in Appendix II of CITES.