Micronesian imperial pigeon
species of bird
The Micronesian imperial pigeon (Ducula oceanica), also known as the Micronesian pigeon, and Belochel is a species of bird in the family Columbidae (doves). It is found in Palau, the Caroline Islands, the Marshall Islands and Nauru. Its habitats include montane forests, secondary forests, forests on beaches, and mangroves. It is threatened by hunting and deforestation, and the IUCN has assessed it as a near-threatened species.
Taxonomy
The species was first described as Columba oceanica in 1826. The binomial authority was formerly considered to be Lesson & Garnot, but it is now given as Desmarest. Five subspecies are recognized: D. o. monacha in Palau and Yap, D. o. teraokai on Chuuk, D. o. townsendi on Pohnpei, D. o.
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This entry incorporates text from “Micronesian imperial pigeon” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.