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The Pigeon
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
This medium-sized pigeon has undergone a miraculous recovery thanks to a sustained and intensive management plan. In this attractive bird, the head, neck and underparts are pink whilst the forehead has a more whitish colour. The back is brown, fading to a rusty coloured tail.
The female is a duller shade than the male with a browner rump . The bill-tip and eyes of both sexes are yellow, whist the legs are red.
Endemic to Mauritius and presently restricted to the Black River Gorges in the southwest of the country and the Ile aux Aigrettes just offshore of the eastern coast . Under intensive management the population has increased from a low of 12 wild individuals in 1986, to over 300 today ; the species has been downgraded from Critically Endangered to Endangered by the World Conservation Union (IUCN).
Originally inhabited native evergreen trees and scrub . Today the pink pigeon is found amongst non-native trees such as the Japanese red cedar (Cryptomeria japonica); a small 6-hectare grove of this tree housed the entire wild population in the 1980s and became known as 'Pigeon Wood'. |
Fisher, Janice has marked this note useful
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