Emerald Dove Chalcophaps longirostris/indica (1 Viewer)

Our material from Semau and Timor consistently differs from birds from north-west Australia, Kimberley and Northern Territory (= longirostris) in being slightly smaller and in having the nape, centre of mantle and upper back tinged with bluish grey (Johnstone 1981). On the nearby island of Roti, however, the birds are very similar to the Kimberley birds having little or no trace of grey. Birds from the more westerly island of Sabu vary considerably, with some having the crown and mantle very distinctly grey, whereas on others these areas have only a weak greyish tinge. The populations from still further west and to the north (Sumba, Alor and Lembata) are more like the nominate form, having the forehead whitish and grey on crown and centre of mantle, but they are still intermediate in a number of characters (Figure 11). There is, therefore a broad intergrade zone between the two Wallacean taxa. Furthermore, contrary to Rasmussen and Anderton (2005) we noted very little difference between the calls of birds from either northern Australia or any population across the Lesser Sundas. A detailed study of the variant, island based, intergrade forms, including their long-term stability etc. is needed in order to clarify their taxonomic status.
The material held in the Western Australian Museum clearly indicates an intergrade zone between the taxa C.i. indica and C.i. longirostris and we would treat the two forms as conspecific.

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martin_WA said:

Those following the putative Common/Pacific Emerald Dove split might be interested in this paper with some new material documenting the intergrade through the Lesser Sundas:

Johnstone R, Hidayat O, Darnell J, Trainor (2014). The avifauna of Semau Island, Lesser Sundas, Indonesia: ecology, taxonomy and conservation. Western Australian Naturalist 29(3): 162-221
http://www.academia.edu/7521703/Johnstone_R._E._Hidayat_O_._Darnell_J._and_Trainor_C._R._2014_The_avifauna_of_Semau_Island_Lesser_Sundas_Indonesia_taxonomy_conservation_and_ecology._Western_Australian_Naturalist._29_3_162-221

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