- Gymnophaps albertisii
Identification
33–36 cm.
- Dark grey head and sides of neck
- Dark grey upperparts with a silvery green sheen
- Black edges on back and wing, giving a scaly impression
- Narrow grey terminal band on tail
- Dark purplish chestnut throat and belly
- Pinkish cream lower neck to lower breast
- Grey thighs and undertail-coverts
- Bright red bare skin around red-orange eye
- Reddish bill with red cere and pinkish tip
Females similar, breast often suffused with grey and eathers of throat with grey edges.
Juveniles are duller with a dull brown breast and pale creamy underparts. exsul is darker and slightly larger.
Distribution
New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago and Bacan (northern Moluccas).
An erratic species, seasonally abundant in some places. Uncommon on Bacan.
Taxonomy
Two subspecies recognized:
- G. a. exsul in the montane forests of Bacan (northern Moluccas)
- G. a. albertisii on Yapen Island, New Guinea and Bismarck Archipelago
Habitat
Moist montanes, mainly in hills and mountains but also undertakes visits to lowlands or down to sea-level. Occurs up to 3350 m. exsul from Bacan is restricted to montane forest from 900 to 1500 m.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on fruit, including figs and drupes of laurel (Cryptocarpa tessalata).
Forages in the canopy, often in flocks of 10 to 40 (or even up to 80) birds.
Breeding
Males in breeding conditions recorded in June. The nest is a platform made of sticks and placed 3.7 to 5 m above the ground in a small tree. One nest was found on the ground in short dry grass above the tree-line. Lays 1 egg.
Movements
A partly nomadic species. Sometimes seen to drop hundreds of metres down the slope of steep ridges in a single dive.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved December 2016)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Papuan Mountain Pigeon. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Papuan_Mountain_Pigeon
