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Choiseul pigeon
The Choiseul pigeon (Microgoura meeki) is an extinct species of bird in the pigeon and dove family, Columbidae. It was endemic to the island of Choiseul in the Solomon Islands, although there are unsubstantiated reports that it may once have lived on several nearby islands. The last confirmed sighting was in 1904. Other common names were the Solomons crested pigeon, the Solomon Islands crowned-pigeon and the kuvojo.
The Choiseul pigeon was monotypic within the genus Microgoura. Its closest living relative is believed to be the thick-billed ground pigeon, and some authors have suggested that the Choiseul pigeon may be a link between that species and the crowned pigeons. There is no available genetic data for the Choiseul pigeon. The adult pigeon was largely blue-grey, with a buffy orange belly and a distinctive slaty-blue crest. It is unknown how this crest was held by the bird in life. The bird's head sported a blue frontal shield surrounded by black feathers and a bicoloured beak. The wings were brown and the short tail was a blackish purple. It was described as having a beautiful rising and falling whistling call.
As the bird became extinct before significant field observations could be made, not much is known about its behaviour. It is believed to have been a terrestrial species that laid a single egg in an unlined depression in the ground. It roosted in pairs or small groups of three or four in small shrubs and was reportedly very tame, allowing hunters to pick it up off its roost. The Choiseul pigeon lived in lowland forests, particularly in coastal swampy areas that lacked mangroves. It was only recorded by Albert Stewart Meek, who collected six adults and an egg from the northern part of the island in 1904. Despite many subsequent searches, the bird has not been definitively reported since. It is believed to have been rare when Meek collected his specimens. The indigenous peoples reported that the species was driven to extinction due to the introduction of cats, as the pigeon had never previously confronted a carnivorous mammal on Choiseul. The last unconfirmed report of a Choiseul pigeon was in the early 1940s, and the species is considered extinct.
The Choiseul pigeon was described by the British zoologist Walter Rothschild in 1904 on the basis of six skins—three male and three female—and an egg collected by the British naturalist Albert Stewart Meek earlier that year. It was placed in the monotypic genus Microgoura, whose name comes from the Ancient Greek word mikros "small", and goura, a New Guinean aboriginal name for the similarly crested crowned pigeons of the genus Goura. Rothschild named the species after Meek, giving the bird the specific name meeki. Though its relationships are unclear, the Choiseul pigeon is believed to have been closest to the thick-billed ground pigeon (Trugon terrestris) from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, which has similar plumage. It has been suggested that the Choiseul pigeon was a link between the thick-billed ground pigeon and the crowned pigeons; however, other sources argue that it may not have been closely related to the crowned pigeons as its crest was quite different. Based on behavioural and morphological evidence, the British palaeontologist Jolyon C. Parish proposed that the Choiseul pigeon should be placed in the Gourinae subfamily along with the Goura pigeons, the dodo, the Rodrigues solitaire, and others in 2014. As of 2025, there is no available genetic data for the Choiseul pigeon.
Today, five skins and a partial skeleton are kept in the American Museum of Natural History, while a single skin and the egg are kept at the Natural History Museum at Tring. The Choiseul pigeon is also known as the Solomon crowned pigeon, Solomon Islands pigeon, Solomons crested pigeon, Solomon Islands crested pigeon, Choiseul crested pigeon, crested Choiseul pigeon, Meek's pigeon, Meek's ground pigeon, and dwarf goura. The indigenous peoples of Choiseul called the species either "kumku-peka" or "kukuru-ni-lua", which translates literally as "pigeon-belong-ground".
The Choiseul pigeon was about 31 cm (12 in) long. The wing of the male was 195–197 mm (7.7–7.8 in), the tail 100–105 mm (3.9–4.1 in), the culmen 34 mm (1.3 in), and the tarsus was 60 mm (2.4 in). The wing of the female was 180–190 mm (7.1–7.5 in), the tail 100 mm (3.9 in), the culmen 33 mm (1.3 in), and the tarsus was 60 mm (2.4 in). Adult Choiseul pigeons of both sexes were blue-grey overall with a buffy orange belly. The pigeon had a distinctive long, rounded crest that had a hairy texture. This crest, like the crown, was slaty-blue and emerged from the bird's hindcrown. Though many artists have speculated, it is unknown how the pigeon held its crest in life as Meek's notes did not cover this subject. John Gerrard Keulemans (who produced the illustration accompanying Rothschild's original description), depicted the crest as being flat based on Meek's specimens; other artists have presented it as spread and scraggly like that of the crowned pigeons. It has been suggested that the crests of the museum specimens were flattened during preparation.
On the bird's forehead was a naked and pale chalky-blue frontal shield. This was surrounded by short, velvety black feathers that extended from the base of the bill to the area just below and in front of the eye, while the area below the eye was a pinkish wash. The bird's chin and throat were sparsely covered with black, velvety feathers, while the neck was a slaty-blue that transitioned into a brownish-grey breast. The abdomen and undertail-coverts were a rich orange, while the undertail was a blackish-grey. The wing was slaty with a hint of brown at its base and became a warm, dark brown by the wingtips; the underwing was brown. The back was grey and transitioned into a browner rump, while the uppertail-coverts were a dark sooty-grey with blackish tips. The tail, which was short and rounded, was a very dark indigo that had a slightly purple iridescent sheen. The bill was bicoloured; the upper mandible was chalky-blue with a black tip while the lower mandible was red. The plumage of the juvenile is unknown. The bird's feet were a dull purplish-red and unfeathered up to the heel, while the iris was a dark brown.
The bird's voice was never recorded; however, after it became extinct, the indigenous peoples described it as possessing a "beautiful rising and falling whistling call given from the roost site every evening." Others described the call as a low "c-r-r-ooo", "cr-ooo", or "cr-o-o-o".
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Choiseul pigeon
The Choiseul pigeon (Microgoura meeki) is an extinct species of bird in the pigeon and dove family, Columbidae. It was endemic to the island of Choiseul in the Solomon Islands, although there are unsubstantiated reports that it may once have lived on several nearby islands. The last confirmed sighting was in 1904. Other common names were the Solomons crested pigeon, the Solomon Islands crowned-pigeon and the kuvojo.
The Choiseul pigeon was monotypic within the genus Microgoura. Its closest living relative is believed to be the thick-billed ground pigeon, and some authors have suggested that the Choiseul pigeon may be a link between that species and the crowned pigeons. There is no available genetic data for the Choiseul pigeon. The adult pigeon was largely blue-grey, with a buffy orange belly and a distinctive slaty-blue crest. It is unknown how this crest was held by the bird in life. The bird's head sported a blue frontal shield surrounded by black feathers and a bicoloured beak. The wings were brown and the short tail was a blackish purple. It was described as having a beautiful rising and falling whistling call.
As the bird became extinct before significant field observations could be made, not much is known about its behaviour. It is believed to have been a terrestrial species that laid a single egg in an unlined depression in the ground. It roosted in pairs or small groups of three or four in small shrubs and was reportedly very tame, allowing hunters to pick it up off its roost. The Choiseul pigeon lived in lowland forests, particularly in coastal swampy areas that lacked mangroves. It was only recorded by Albert Stewart Meek, who collected six adults and an egg from the northern part of the island in 1904. Despite many subsequent searches, the bird has not been definitively reported since. It is believed to have been rare when Meek collected his specimens. The indigenous peoples reported that the species was driven to extinction due to the introduction of cats, as the pigeon had never previously confronted a carnivorous mammal on Choiseul. The last unconfirmed report of a Choiseul pigeon was in the early 1940s, and the species is considered extinct.
The Choiseul pigeon was described by the British zoologist Walter Rothschild in 1904 on the basis of six skins—three male and three female—and an egg collected by the British naturalist Albert Stewart Meek earlier that year. It was placed in the monotypic genus Microgoura, whose name comes from the Ancient Greek word mikros "small", and goura, a New Guinean aboriginal name for the similarly crested crowned pigeons of the genus Goura. Rothschild named the species after Meek, giving the bird the specific name meeki. Though its relationships are unclear, the Choiseul pigeon is believed to have been closest to the thick-billed ground pigeon (Trugon terrestris) from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, which has similar plumage. It has been suggested that the Choiseul pigeon was a link between the thick-billed ground pigeon and the crowned pigeons; however, other sources argue that it may not have been closely related to the crowned pigeons as its crest was quite different. Based on behavioural and morphological evidence, the British palaeontologist Jolyon C. Parish proposed that the Choiseul pigeon should be placed in the Gourinae subfamily along with the Goura pigeons, the dodo, the Rodrigues solitaire, and others in 2014. As of 2025, there is no available genetic data for the Choiseul pigeon.
Today, five skins and a partial skeleton are kept in the American Museum of Natural History, while a single skin and the egg are kept at the Natural History Museum at Tring. The Choiseul pigeon is also known as the Solomon crowned pigeon, Solomon Islands pigeon, Solomons crested pigeon, Solomon Islands crested pigeon, Choiseul crested pigeon, crested Choiseul pigeon, Meek's pigeon, Meek's ground pigeon, and dwarf goura. The indigenous peoples of Choiseul called the species either "kumku-peka" or "kukuru-ni-lua", which translates literally as "pigeon-belong-ground".
The Choiseul pigeon was about 31 cm (12 in) long. The wing of the male was 195–197 mm (7.7–7.8 in), the tail 100–105 mm (3.9–4.1 in), the culmen 34 mm (1.3 in), and the tarsus was 60 mm (2.4 in). The wing of the female was 180–190 mm (7.1–7.5 in), the tail 100 mm (3.9 in), the culmen 33 mm (1.3 in), and the tarsus was 60 mm (2.4 in). Adult Choiseul pigeons of both sexes were blue-grey overall with a buffy orange belly. The pigeon had a distinctive long, rounded crest that had a hairy texture. This crest, like the crown, was slaty-blue and emerged from the bird's hindcrown. Though many artists have speculated, it is unknown how the pigeon held its crest in life as Meek's notes did not cover this subject. John Gerrard Keulemans (who produced the illustration accompanying Rothschild's original description), depicted the crest as being flat based on Meek's specimens; other artists have presented it as spread and scraggly like that of the crowned pigeons. It has been suggested that the crests of the museum specimens were flattened during preparation.
On the bird's forehead was a naked and pale chalky-blue frontal shield. This was surrounded by short, velvety black feathers that extended from the base of the bill to the area just below and in front of the eye, while the area below the eye was a pinkish wash. The bird's chin and throat were sparsely covered with black, velvety feathers, while the neck was a slaty-blue that transitioned into a brownish-grey breast. The abdomen and undertail-coverts were a rich orange, while the undertail was a blackish-grey. The wing was slaty with a hint of brown at its base and became a warm, dark brown by the wingtips; the underwing was brown. The back was grey and transitioned into a browner rump, while the uppertail-coverts were a dark sooty-grey with blackish tips. The tail, which was short and rounded, was a very dark indigo that had a slightly purple iridescent sheen. The bill was bicoloured; the upper mandible was chalky-blue with a black tip while the lower mandible was red. The plumage of the juvenile is unknown. The bird's feet were a dull purplish-red and unfeathered up to the heel, while the iris was a dark brown.
The bird's voice was never recorded; however, after it became extinct, the indigenous peoples described it as possessing a "beautiful rising and falling whistling call given from the roost site every evening." Others described the call as a low "c-r-r-ooo", "cr-ooo", or "cr-o-o-o".
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