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Pacific Emerald Dove
(Chalcophaps longirostris)
: "Brown-capped Emerald Dove", "Emerald Dove", "Emerald Pigeon",
"Emerald Ground-Dove", "Green Dove", "Green-winged Pigeon",
"Little Green Pigeon"
Aboriginal name(s): "punkaree"
Size: 23-27 cm
Weight: 150-190 g
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Physical description |
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Click here for a physical description
Pacific Emerald Doves are medium-sized doves.
Their plumage is
dimorphic, i.e.
males and
females
are slightly different.
Male
Pacific Emerald Doves have a white shoulder patch, while H
females
have a grey one; otherwise the two sexes look identical.
The head, neck, and front (throat, chest, belly) are purplish
grey-brown. The body is mauve-brown; the wings are emerald-green
and iridescent.
The bill is orange, the eye ring brownish and the legs and feet
dark-red. The back is barred dark and light grey, the tail is
dark-grey.
Juveniles
are mottled black and brown, except the wings, which are mottled
brown and emerald.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See
Emerald Dove at Wikipedia .
Click here for classification information
Pacific Emerald Doves have now been given species status and are
no longer considered to be a race of the Grey-capped Emerald Dove,
"Chalcophaps indica". Also the definition of the races/subspecies
has recently been revised.
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based
on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of the Pacific Emerald Dove is available
HERE
.
There are four extant races of the Pacific Emerald Dove.
Their combined range extends from the eastern Lesser Sunda
Islands in eastern Indonesia (race "timorensis"), via New
Guinea and parts of Australia, including
Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island (races "longirostris" and
"rogersi"),
to Vanuatu, New Caledonia and the Santa Cruz and Banks
Islands (race "sandwichensis").
There are two races of Pacific Emerald Doves on the Australian continent.
Nominate race "longirostris",
which is endemic, occurs along a narrow coastal strip of the NT,
including some offshore
islands, and in a
few spots on the WA North-west coast. They are not found anywhere far
inland.
Race "rogersi"
populates the
East coast of the Australian continent, including the Torres Strait,
from the tip of Cape York peninsula to about the NSW/VIC border.
This race is also found on Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island.
Pacific Emerald Doves can be found in various types of dense
forest,
from rainforest to
mangrove swamps
(also on [tropical] offshore islands with dense vegetation).
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
Race "longirostris"
B. Hensen reports spotting Pacific Emerald Doves, race "longirostris", in
Darwin, NT, in July 2012.
H. Mouritsen reports spotting Pacific Emerald Doves, race "longirostris",
in Kakadu NP
in October 2015.
P. Brown found a Pacific Emerald Dove, race "longirostris", at
East Point, Darwin, NT, in January 2019.
Race "rogersi"
M. Mearns reports spotting an Pacific Emerald Doves, race "rogersi", on Norfolk Island
in January 2008.
Pacific Emerald Doves, race "rogersi", were observed
by C. Kellenberg on Lord Howe Island in July 2010.
A pair of Pacific Emerald Doves, race "rogersi", was spotted by
us at Iluka NR,
northern NSW, in February 2012.
B. Hensen reports spotting Pacific Emerald Doves, race "rogersi", at Rocky Creek,
Cairns, QLD, in July 2013.
A. Ross-Taylor reports spotting Pacific Emerald Doves, race "rogersi", at O'Reilly's
Plateau, Lamington
NP, Gold Coast, QLD, in November 2013.
M. Eaton reports spotting Pacific Emerald Doves, race "rogersi", at Lake Eacham,
Atherton Tablelands, QLD, and Kingfisher Park, Julatten, QLD, in
November 2018.
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Photos |
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Race "longirostris"
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ADULT |
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MALE |
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Frontal and lateral view of two male Pacific Emerald Doves;
note the white shoulder patches (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Darwin, NT, July 2012]
Lateral view of two male Pacific Emerald Doves; note the large
white shoulder patches (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Darwin, NT, July 2012]
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FEMALE |
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Lateral view of a Pacific Emerald Doves - its very grey
appearance, without any purple sheen, may indicate that
this is a female; note the deformed bill
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[East Point, Darwin, NT, January 2019]
Dorsal view of a Pacific Emerald Dove; when viewed with different
contrast settings this photo shows very inconspicuous bars
on the rump, indicating that this may be a female
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Darwin, NT, July 2012]
Race "rogersi"
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ADULT |
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MALE |
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Frontal view of a male Pacific Emerald Dove (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kingfisher Park, Julatten, QLD, November 2018]
Near-lateral view of a male Pacific Emerald Dove (photo courtesy of C. Hayne)
Near-lateral view of a male Pacific Emerald Dove (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Eacham, Atherton Tablelands, QLD, November 2018]
Lateral view of a male Pacific Emerald Dove (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kingfisher Park, Julatten, QLD, November 2018]
Lateral view of a male Pacific Emerald Dove (photo courtesy of C. Kellenberg)
[Lord Howe Island, July 2010]
Lateral view of a male Pacific Emerald Dove (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Norfolk Island, January 2008]
Near-dorsal view of a male Pacific Emerald Dove (photo courtesy of C. Kellenberg)
[Lord Howe Island, July 2010]
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FEMALE |
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Frontal/ventral view of a female Pacific Emerald Dove
(photo courtesy of C. Kellenberg)
[Lord Howe Island, July 2010]
Lateral view of a female Pacific Emerald Dove; note the grey shoulder patch
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Rocky Creek, Cairns, QLD, July 2013]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
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Near-frontal view of a juvenile Pacific Emerald Dove
(photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, Gold Coast,
QLD, November 2013]
Lateral view of a juvenile Pacific Emerald Dove
(photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, Gold Coast,
QLD, November 2013]
Lateral view of a juvenile Pacific Emerald Dove spreading its wings
(photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, Gold Coast,
QLD, November 2013]
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Food, Diet |
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All pigeons and doves are strictly vegetarian. Pacific Emerald Doves
are seed- and fruit-eaters.
Lateral view of a male Pacific Emerald Dove taking water from a bowl
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kingfisher Park, Julatten, QLD, November 2018]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors.
The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.