New Zealand wood pigeon
| New Zealand pigeon | |
|---|---|
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| On Kapiti Island, New Zealand | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Columbiformes |
| Family: | Columbidae |
| Genus: | Hemiphaga |
| Species: | H. novaeseelandiae |
| Binomial name | |
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Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae (Gmelin, 1789) |
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The New Zealand pigeon or kererū (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) is a bird endemic to New Zealand. Māori call it kererū in most of the country but kūkupa and kūkū in some parts of the North Island, particularly in Northland. Commonly called wood pigeon, they are distinct from the wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) of the Northern Hemisphere, which is a member of a different genus.
The New Zealand pigeon belongs to the family Columbidae, and the subfamily Treroninae, which is found throughout Southeast Asia, Malaya, Africa and New Zealand. The members of this subfamily feed largely on fruits, mainly drupes. New Zealand pigeons are members of the pigeon genus Hemiphaga (Bonaparte, 1854), which is endemic to the New Zealand archipelago and Norfolk Island. However recently a Hemiphaga bone was found on Raoul Island. The Chatham pigeon or Chatham Island pigeon (Hemiphaga chathamensis) is traditionally considered a subspecies of the kererū, but is here treated as a separate species.
The New Zealand pigeon is a large, 550–850 grams (19–30 oz), arboreal fruit-pigeon found in forests from Northland to Stewart Island/Rakiura, ranging in habitats from coastal to montane. The general morphology is that of a typical pigeon, in that it has a relatively small head, a straight soft-based bill and loosely attached feathers. It also displays typical pigeon behaviour, which includes drinking by suction, a wing-threat display, hitting with the wing when threatened, a diving display flight, a 'bowing' display, ritualised preening and 'billing' during courtship. New Zealand pigeons build flimsy, shallow, twiggy nests and feed crop milk to hatchlings.
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