Violet-headed Pigeon
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Violet-headed
Pigeon, Patagioenas
violacea L 35-40 cm, WS 62 cm, Family:
Columbidae
IUCN Conservation Status: Least concern (LC)
Description:
Large,
stocky pigeon with long, rounded tail, pointed wings, and small head. Head and
breast dark purple with faded greenish iridescence on back of neck, belly light
gray. Iridescent neck patch is unlike any close relatives in its striped
arrangement. Upperparts dull blue-gray, with darker wingtips and a lighter
grayish band at the end of the tail, except in eastern subspecies, where tail
band is extremely faint, not usually visible in the field. Bill, feet, and eyes
reddish. The largest pigeon on the island; pointed wings and long tail may be
confused for a falcon in flight.
Voice:
Least
vocal of native pigeons. Most commonly heard giving long, monotone, low hooting
coos, quite owl-like. Other calls include nasally chirps and a soft cooing
rattle, given only by males. During takeoff, wing flapping may produce a
clapping sound, less common than in other pigeons.
Range and Habitat:
Common
throughout most of its range, except Kosatka Island and areas bordering the
prairie where it is rare. Forest birds, they can be found in most woodland
types, including temperate rainforest, subalpine, lowland, and deciduous, but
prefer evergreen conifer and mixed conifer forests. Will also use wetland and
scrub ecosystems less commonly. In summer, they may be found at higher
elevations up to the tree-line, and in the winter will move further south and
to lower elevations, including the Twin River Basin and Charlotte Sound.
Discussion:
The
Violet-headed Pigeon is a somewhat common bird of Novasolan forests and higher
elevations, though less common than other native doves. The largest endemic pigeon, P. violacea appears bulkier and
heavier than other native members of its group. Despite this, they are surprisingly
acrobatic and more agile in their behaviors, easily navigating tree branches and
less willing to leave the canopy, and like other doves their flight is fast and
swooping.
The
Violet-headed Pigeon is unlike most other native pigeons in its feeding
behaviors, in that they forage up in trees, often hanging upside down from the
canopy, picking at food. They usually avoid feeding from the ground, except
when swallowing sand and gravel to use in their crops. The diet of P.
violacea consists entirely of plant matter, including seeds, nuts, fruits, leaves,
and flowers, but they especially prefer acorns, cone seeds, berries like dogwood,
huckleberry, and juniper, and Novasolan Madrone fruit. They will shift their
diets throughout the year, taking advantage of mass acorn crops and seasonal
fruits. Pigeons will fly far distances each day to forage, and when preferred
foods are unavailable, they will forage in unfavorable habitats, including more
developed areas like grain crop fields and orchards. Pigeons will visit feeder
occasionally, though competition with other pigeon species often prevents them
from staying long.
Though
often quiet, these birds are gregarious and can often be seen in flocks,
especially in winter. Even during the breeding season they can be found in
flocks, and they breed colonially. Outside the breeding season they will form
large, nomadic flocks that move throughout the island’s forests. Mated pairs
are monogamous, and both parents incubate eggs. Though they usually have
multiple broods a year, females will usually lay only one egg per brood. Like
other pigeons, the Violet-headed feeds its young a substance called “crop
milk”, which they secrete and regurgitate from their esophagus.
Though
different genera, the Violet-headed Pigeon is the closest living relative to Feasting
Pigeon, which shares some of its range. It is theorized that competition with
the Feasting Pigeon has limited the Violet-headed Pigeon’s range and has driven
them to better adapt to forest ecosystems, thus evolving to fill separate
ecological niches.
Despite
their relative commonness, the Novasolan Research Corps did not write of many encounters
with Violet-headed Pigeons. Most references to the bird come from hunting manifests,
and we know they made up a significant portion of the NRC’s diet during parts of
the second and third expeditions. This led some scientists to theorize that the
Violet-headed Pigeon is more common now than it was in the past, though there
is little other data to support this. Most of what we know about the pigeon’s
ecology comes from research done decades later.
“This
morning’s surveys have produced many new sightings: a chickadee of a likely new
species, two dippers, likely a pair, yet undescribed, the frequent low cooing
of some undescribed dove, and a new emerald bird.” – Expedition log, August 19, 1903
“Pair
of doves seen foraging atop a Madrone this morning, about a mile or so from
camp. Soon after spotting them, my presence startled them into flight, though
they quickly found new footing in a nearby Coopers-fir. The birds were in many
regards reminiscent of the Band-tailed Pigeons of Oregon and California and are
no doubt close relatives.” – Expedition log, August 30, 1903
“The
Violet Pigeon may be found in great numbers all seasons along the banks of the
Chidkayook and with even greater frequency surrounding the shores of Great Shadow
Lake, above which their swift dives and acrobatic aerial maneuvers may best be observed
before they retreat to the woodlands. In warmer months the Pigeon is restricted
to the wet evergreen forests of the northwest but may expand their range into
lowland country such as that surrounding Charlotte Sound in colder seasons or
times of low natural crop yield. Particularly fond of acorn and madrone, the
Pigeon, with its flock, might besiege a town’s plantings for a time before being
forced to flee at the hands of farmers and Feasting Pigeons alike.
Indeed,
farmers and hunters both make quick work of stray Violet Pigeons. The birds’ fondness
for members of its own kind and proclivity for flocking are such that birds
will roost next to one another, closely and touching, so that no bird may be
situated alone or apart from intimate contact, which makes for good shooting,
as multiple birds may be taken with a single shot. Ample meat on the breast,
the Violet Pigeon is tender and is thus fine eating.” – Native Birds of
Novasola, 1912