Nicobar pigeon

The Nicobar Pigeon…

This is one one of the more interesting species we find on the Similan Islands. They are not listed as endangered, but their habitats are rapidly dwindling and there are only a few places they can be so easily seen with humans around.

Details…

The Nicobar Pigeon also known as the “hackled pigeon,” “white-tailed pigeon” or vulturine pigeon” is one of the most beautiful of the pigeon/dove species.

It is the only living member of the genus Caloenas

This is a large, heavy pigeon at 40cm in length. It is mainly metallic green with green and copper hackles on the neck. The head and upper neck, flight feathers and breast are dark grey. The tail is very short and pure white. There is a black knob on the base of the bill, and the strong legs are dark red. This is not a very vocal species, but the call is a coo-coo-coo (often heard on Island #4).


The Nicobar Pigeon is nomadic commuting from island to island during the day to find food (hard seeds, fruits, insects, and corn). They feed off of the ground, toss leaves aside and dig with their bill. These pigeons roost together at night on islands that are not inhabited. The Nicobar does not sip when drinking, instead they are like other pigeons and doves, they immerse their bill sucking up the water.

The Nicobar pigeon is its very thick walled muscular gizzard, which is lined with plates. This muscular gizzard enables them to grind large hard nuts that a human could only open with a hammer. They make a sound like pigs grunting when threatening others. They fly close to ground level.

The breeding season for these pigeons seemed to be prolonged, but these birds are monogamous and tend to mate for a life time. It seems as if the male bows to the female and coos loudly, this action can go on for days. This is followed by the building of the nest. The male provides the nesting site which is normally in thick brushy areas, also they gather 3-4 twigs, roots and other material needed to build the nest. The female arranges the twigs so that the egg would be stable and not roll. Their nest can be as low as 2m above the ground in undisturbed colonies, or just below the canopy top to 12m in disturbed sites. In each clutch, there is 1 egg (there can usually be 2 eggs) elliptical in shape and white, with a faint bluish tinge. Both the male and the female share the incubating duties which last 30 days (two and a half weeks for each parent). The birds are hatched nearly naked, with shiny black skin. When born, the birds are helpless, and require attentive parental care and feeding. They are first fed “crop milk” which is a rich fluid regurgitated by the female parent. Gradually the birds switch to a solid diet of fruit and seed. The parents try to keep their young as warm as possible, until their feathers begin to grow (about 10 days). Within less than a month the young pigeons can fend for themselves even though they remain in their nest.

These are pretty interesting I didn’t know about the mating for life, but am fascinated. While doing our nature walks on Island #4 we very frequently hear them, and frequently see them on the jungle floor. They say they travel in large numbers, but it not any of our experience.

The “cooing” sound is also quite relaxing and adds a very nice element to the jungle sounds.


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