Scientific Name:
Caloenas Nicobarica
Distribution
Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Viet Nam.
Diet:
Omnivore - Fallen fruits and seeds, occasionally invertebrates.
Facts
Habitat: Rainforests, mangroves
Social structure: Groups of ~100 or more birds
Weight: male 525g max, female 600g max
Dimensions: 32-38cm
Lifespan: 8-12
Estimated population in the wild: Rare
IUCN Status: Near Threatened.
Threats: Habitat destruction due to conversion into plantations, trapping for food and the pet trade, predation by rats, cats and other alien species.
Did you know that:
- A research conducted by the Oxford University Museum of Natural History found that the Nicobar pigeon is the closest living relative of the dodo bird, a flightless giant pigeon that went extinct in the mid-1600s
- They have a very muscular gizzard, which enables them to eat very hard-shelled nuts.