Marquesan Ground Dove - BirdForum Opus

Alternative name: Grey-hooded Ground Dove

Pampusana rubescens

Alopecoenas rubescens

Identification

20 cm. Often shows a hunched body posture with drooped wings.

• Ash grey head, neck, throat and breast
• Rich purple to reddish back and sides of hindneck, lesser wing-coverts and some median wing-coverts
• Greenish black rest of upperparts, dull black rest of underparts
• Prominent white wing patches in flight, basal half of tail feathers also white
• Black bill
• Purplish to reddish black feet and legs

Females similar but with less white in wings and tail and more greenish gloss on upperparts. Juveniles with very little white in wings and no white in tail.

Distribution

Endemic to two tiny islands in the Pacific, Hatutu and Fatu Huku (French Polynesia). Probably occured throughout the archipelago in the past.
An endangered species with a very small range and a population of about 210 to 300 birds. Extremly vulnerable to the introduction of cats, rats and other predators.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species.
Formerly placed in the genus Gallicolumba by Clements.

Habitat

Found in all habitats on Hututu (tussock grassland, shrubland, trees, cliffs). After a severe drought in 2010 restricted to higher elevations where it was probably more humid.

Behaviour

Diet

Poorly known. Seen feeding on seeds and ants. Forages almost entirely on the ground, using its bill to turn over dead leaves and digging soil.

Breeding

In captivity builds a typical pigeon nest with twigs and lays 2 white eggs. No information from the wild.

Movements

A resident species. Reported to be a weak flyer.

References

1. Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved March 2015)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Marquesan Ground Dove. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Marquesan_Ground_Dove

External Links

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