Tooth-billed Pigeon
Encyclopedia
The Tooth-billed Pigeon (Didunculus strigirostris) also known as Samoan Pigeon, is a medium-sized, approximately 34 cm long, dark pigeon
with reddish feet and bare skin around eye. The underparts, head and neck are blackish with a slight blue-green iridescence, and the tail, wings-coverts
and tertials are chestnut, while the remaining remiges are blackish. It has a large, curved, and hooked orange bill
with toothlike projections on the lower mandible. Both sexes are similar, but the juvenile
is duller, with a black bill with only the base orange.
The only extant member in the monotypic
genus Didunculus, the Tooth-billed Pigeon is confined to undisturbed forests of Samoa
in the Pacific
. It feeds almost exclusively on the fruits of Dysoxylum
, a tree in the mahogany
family.
The Tooth-billed Pigeon is the national bird of Samoa and is locally known as the Manumea.
The species was probably found in October or November 1839, by the United States' Exploring Expedition under Commander Wilkes. The discovery of the bird was announced by Hugh Edwin Strickland
in September 1844 as being among the rarities obtained by Mr. Titian Peale, the naturalist of the expedition. The formal description was made by William Jardine (Ann. Nat. Hist. xvi. p. 175, plate 9), under the name of Gnathodon strigirostris, although that genus name was already in use for a mollusc.
The Tooth-billed Pigeon has no close living relative, and may represent a link between the pigeons and the extinct Dodo
(Didunculus means "little Dodo" and the English name of Dodlet was suggested by Sir Richard Owen). The jaw and tongue structure, and the superficially parrot
like bill have suggested a relationship to the parrots, but these features have arisen from its specialised diet rather than any real relationship.
Because of ongoing habitat loss, limited range, small population size, and occasional natural disasters, the Tooth-billed Pigeon is evaluated as Endangered on the IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species.
, Tafua Preserve
, Fagaloa Bay – Uafato Tiavea Conservation Zone on Upolu Island, and Nu'ulua
island.
Dove
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...
with reddish feet and bare skin around eye. The underparts, head and neck are blackish with a slight blue-green iridescence, and the tail, wings-coverts
Covert (feather)
A covert feather on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts, which as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail.- Wing-coverts :...
and tertials are chestnut, while the remaining remiges are blackish. It has a large, curved, and hooked orange bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
with toothlike projections on the lower mandible. Both sexes are similar, but the juvenile
Juvenile (organism)
A juvenile is an individual organism that has not yet reached its adult form, sexual maturity or size. Juveniles sometimes look very different from the adult form, particularly in terms of their colour...
is duller, with a black bill with only the base orange.
The only extant member in the monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
genus Didunculus, the Tooth-billed Pigeon is confined to undisturbed forests of Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
in the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. It feeds almost exclusively on the fruits of Dysoxylum
Dysoxylum
Dysoxylum is a flowering plant genus in the mahogany family . There are about 70 species, mainly trees, occurring from Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, New Caledonia and through to other parts of the western Pacific Ocean...
, a tree in the mahogany
Meliaceae
The Meliaceae, or the Mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs in the order Sapindales....
family.
The Tooth-billed Pigeon is the national bird of Samoa and is locally known as the Manumea.
The species was probably found in October or November 1839, by the United States' Exploring Expedition under Commander Wilkes. The discovery of the bird was announced by Hugh Edwin Strickland
Hugh Edwin Strickland
Hugh Edwin Strickland , was an English geologist, ornithologist,naturalist, and systematist.Strickland was born at Reighton, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. He was the second son of Henry Eustatius Strickland of Apperley, Gloucestershire, by his wife Mary, daughter of Edmund Cartwright, D.D. [q...
in September 1844 as being among the rarities obtained by Mr. Titian Peale, the naturalist of the expedition. The formal description was made by William Jardine (Ann. Nat. Hist. xvi. p. 175, plate 9), under the name of Gnathodon strigirostris, although that genus name was already in use for a mollusc.
The Tooth-billed Pigeon has no close living relative, and may represent a link between the pigeons and the extinct Dodo
Dodo
The dodo was a flightless bird endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. Related to pigeons and doves, it stood about a meter tall, weighing about , living on fruit, and nesting on the ground....
(Didunculus means "little Dodo" and the English name of Dodlet was suggested by Sir Richard Owen). The jaw and tongue structure, and the superficially parrot
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
like bill have suggested a relationship to the parrots, but these features have arisen from its specialised diet rather than any real relationship.
Because of ongoing habitat loss, limited range, small population size, and occasional natural disasters, the Tooth-billed Pigeon is evaluated as Endangered 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.
Habitats
Natural habitats for the Tooth-billed Pigeon in Samoa include the Central Savai'i RainforestCentral Savai'i Rainforest
The Samoan tropical moist forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Samoan Islands. They cover an area of .The Central Savai'i Rainforest, comprising an area of 72,699 hectares on the island of Savai'i in the Samoan Islands, is the largest continuous patch of rainforest in...
, Tafua Preserve
Tafua
Tafua is a seaside village on the island of Savai'i in Samoa. It is situated on a peninsula on the southeast coast of the island in Palauli district.The population is 408 .-Tafua Rainforest Preserve:...
, Fagaloa Bay – Uafato Tiavea Conservation Zone on Upolu Island, and Nu'ulua
Nu'ulua
Nu'ulua is a small uninhabited island in the Aleipata Islands situated more than 1.3 km from the eastern end of Upolu in Samoa.Nu'ulua has a land area of 25 hectares and is a habitat for locally and regionally endemic birds including the endangered Tooth-billed Pigeon, , also known as Samoan...
island.