- Reinwardtoena reinwardti
Identification
47.5-52.5 cm, 18.7-20.7 inches. 208–305 g
This is an impressive large cuckoo-dove
- Light blue head, neck and underparts
- White throat
- Very long tail
- Head, neck, breast and underparts are pale blue grey
- Darker on sides and undertail coverts
- White throat
- Breast often with pink wash and edged pinky cream or white
- Mantle, back, rump, uppertail coverts and central rectrices deep reddish brown
- Wing coverts and scapulars dark reddish brown
- Primaries, secondaries with their respective coverts black
- Outer pair of rectrices grey white outer webs with black subterminal bands
- Inner webs have wide black bands with grey tips
- Next pair in are black based with grey centres and black and reddish brown subterminal band
- Next pair tipped with wide reddish brown bands, the amount of reddish brown increasing gradually
- Only a small amount of grey and black at the base
- Underwing black
- Iris pale yellow or pink with red outer ring
- Orbital skin dark pink to wine red
- Beak with brown, sometimes white tip. Base and cere red to cerise
- Legs and feet red, reddish purple or cerise
Female
- May have orbital skin duller or more chestnut
- Iris more yellow
Juvenile
- Dull browny grey
- Darker on wings
- Offwhite throat
- Rump and uppertail coverts chestnut with dark edges
- Central rectrices blackish brown with reddish brown wash
- A few mantle and wing feathers have reddish brown edges
Chick
- Down on newly hatched chicks is pinkish white
- Fully grown chicks have black beaks and legs
Similar Species
Slender-billed Cuckoo-Dove which usually has wine red wash to underparts, barred darker with less contrast to duller upperparts.
Distribution
Found throughout New Guinea, the islands of the Geelvink bay, West Papuan islands, the Moluccas, Karkar island and D'Entrecasteaux islands
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Three subspecies are recognized[1]:
- R.r. reinwardti Clinal differences to colour tone, darkest birds in north and lightest in the southwest. Immature birds have grey and brown wash.
- R.r. griseotincta wing of male 254 mm, larger than nominate (238 mm), darker under tail coverts, white only on forehead, throat and face, lustrous grey breast.
- West Papuan Islands, New Guinea and D'Entrecasteaux Arch
- R.r. brevis smaller, with wing only 210 mm, paler than other races, with complete head and underparts white, in strong contrasti to dark reddish brown upperparts.
- Biak Island (off northern New Guinea)
Habitat
Found in canopy and middle level primary forest, forest edge, secondary growth and gallery forest, on Biak I. Up to tree line at 3380 m on mainland and to 1190 m on Karkar I. Mainly between 800–1400 m in Moluccas. lowland birds seen mainly near hills.
Behaviour
One of the most elegant flyers in the dove world but getting a flight shot is far from easy. Mostly solitary, but may be in pairs or groups of up to ten, and eating fruit with other frugivores.
Diet
Their diet consists mainly of seeds and fruit. Feeds on the ground at regular intervals. Pebbles have been found in the stomachs of some birds. Prefers the fruit of Schefflera and other Araliaceae. Records show feeding on Schefflera chaetorrhachis and some Osmoxylum in Papua New Guinea.
Breeding
Breed all year round on New Guinea, with peak period from October to November. Nests and young bird have been found between March and August and October and December. Birds in breeding condition have been seen at other times. A chick was found on Buru in February. Undulating display flight, sweeping up steeply initially, with spread wings and tail, or wings clapping, followed by a steep downward glide. Also displays in similar fashion to Macropygia. Nest is a flat or slightly bowl-shaped structure of sticks (20 cm × 80 cm), also with roots, ferns and moss, lined with softer plants Normally betwwen 1.2 and 5 m above the ground in a tree or bush, one at about 12 m in Pandanus. Sometimes nests on ledges between 2.4 and 12 m above ground in river gorges and caves. One white egg. Incubation thought to be by both parents.
Vocalisation
Most common call is a “cookuwook cookuwook cookuwook...” , slower than that of Slender-billed Cuckoo-Dove with about 1 phrase/s and more trisyllabic, frequently repeated over long periods. Also a series of about 12 descending “hoo” notes which speed up towards end.
Status
Their big sizes make them a favourite hunting target as a food source and that's the cause of their number being reduced dramatically in the last 10 years both in Biak and Yapen islands in the Geelvink bay.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved August 2015)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Great Cuckoo-Dove. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 22 November 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Great_Cuckoo-Dove
External Links
