Chapter X: Part 10

_Carpophaga pacifica_ Finsch and Hartlaub (part), Fauna
Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 145 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch,
Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, pp. 7, 118 (Pelew); Finsch and
Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1870, p. 134 (Pelew).

_Globicera oceanica monacha_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 55 (Yap); Mathews, Syst. Avium
Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 46 (Yap); Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932,
p. 408 (Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 189 (Yap,
Palau, Current = Palo Anna).

_Globicera oceanica momiyamai_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, March, 1922, pp. 25, 56 (Type locality, Angaur);
Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 46 (Pelew);
Kuroda, Ibis, 1927, p. 719 (Pelew).

_Muscadivora oceanica winkleri_ Neumann, Verhandl. Ornith. Ges.
Bayern, 25, Sept. 1, 1922, p. 234 (Type locality, Palau).

_Ducula oceanica monacha_ Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3, 1937,
p. 43 (Yap, Babelthuap, Koror, Angaur, Current); Hand-list
Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 211 (Yap, Babelthuap, Koror,
Angaur, Current); Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1237, 1943, p. 11
(Yap, Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 289 (Palau,
Yap); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 66
(Peleliu, Garakayo, Babelthuap).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror,
Garakayo, Peleliu, Angaur, Palo Anna; Caroline Islands--Yap.

_Characters._--Adult: Resembles _D. o. oceanica_ from Kusaie but
throat, breast, head, and neck light ashy-gray; feathers around
bill grayish-white; abdomen and under tail-coverts tipped with
light brown.

Immature: Resembles adult, but underparts paler; back lacking dark
bluish spots; back feathers and wing feathers edged with light
brown.

_Measurements._--Measurements of _D. oceanica_ are listed in table
27.

TABLE 27. MEASUREMENTS OF _Ducula oceanica_

=================+==========+=============+================+==========
SUBSPECIES | Number | Wing | Exposed culmen | Tarsus
-----------------+----------+-------------+----------------+----------
| | | |
_D. o. monacha_ | 8 males |228 (219-233)| |36 (34-37)
| 6 females|221 (214-228)|22.5 (22.0-23.0)|31 (29-33)
| | | |
_D. o. teraokai_ | 5 males |230 (225-237)|23.5 (23.0-25.0)|34 (33-35)
| 8 females|231 (221-238)|23.0 (21.5-24.5)|34 (33-35)
| | | |
_D. o. townsendi_| 8 males |226 (211-234)|24.0 (23.5-25.0)|34 (32-35)
| 5 females|226 (215-233)|24.0 (23.0-24.5)|33 (32-34)
| | | |
_D. o. oceanica_ | 4 males |222 (217-228)|25.0 (24.5-26.0)|35 (34-36)
|13 females|219 (213-226)|24.0 (23.0-25.0)|32 (30-34)
| | | |
_D. o. | | | |
ratakensis_[B] | 6 males | (211-217)| (25.0-27.0)|
| 3 females| (208-213)| (25.0-26.0)|
-----------------+----------+-------------+----------------+----------

[B] From Takatsukasa and Yamashina (1932:221).

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 17 (9 males, 8 females), as
follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Garakayo, 1 (Sept. 19)--Peleliu, 7
(Aug. 27, 28, 29, Sept. 4, 5); AMNH--Palau, 9 (Oct., Nov. 13, 15,
21, Dec. 1).

_Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:408) records the finding of one egg at
Yap on December 3, 1930. The NAMRU2 party obtained no evidence of
breeding activity of these pigeons at the Palaus in August and
September, 1945. Coultas, in November and December of 1931,
obtained birds with enlarged gonads at Palau. Probably the nesting
season begins in November or December.

_Food habits._--The pigeons feed on both fruits and green stuffs.
The NAMRU2 party found berries, fruit parts and green plant
materials in stomachs of birds taken in September, 1945. The birds
were found to be exceedingly fat at this time.

_Parasites._--Uchida (1918:486, 489) records the bird lice
(Mallophaga), _Goniocotes carpohagae_ and _Colopocephalum
unicolor_, from this pigeon at Palau.

_Remarks._--The Micronesian Pigeon at Palau was first observed in 1783, when Captain Henry Wilson of the packet "Antelope" was shipwrecked in these islands. In his account of the islands, as compiled by George Keate (Wilson, 1788), Wilson described the large pigeons, which were kept as pets by the natives and were eaten by only certain classes of people. In 1826, Lesson and Garnot made first reference to the birds found by Wilson. It was almost 100 years after Wilson's visit that the bird was again observed; this time it was obtained by the sea captains, Tetens and Heinsohn, and by Kubary, the collector for the Godeffroy Museum.

It is surprising that a pigeon as large and conspicuous as this one, has not already been exterminated by man on these small islands. Every traveller to the islands, who has made observations, writes that the pressure of hunting on these birds is severe. Coultas (field notes) reports that in 1931 the birds were "very scarce and wild." He comments that the Japanese hunters obtained the birds and received the market price of 35 sen for each one. He writes, "There is a group of Japanese hunters in the islands who vie with one another to see who can obtain the most birds. They are all atrocious shots but some employ natives and since so many of them are in the business they are inflicting considerable damage to the bird life. During my stay there one Japanese was sentenced to six weeks hard labor for hiring native hunters. The native hunter who preferred charges claimed that money was due him for having shot some 3,500 birds and the account had been standing over a year." Price (1936b:491) shows a picture of a captive pigeon at Palau. The natives used this bird as a calling decoy to attract others within range of their blowguns.

The NAMRU2 party observed pigeons at all islands visited in August and September, 1945. At Peleliu, the pigeons were found to be restricted to relatively undisturbed areas where tall trees remained or where shrubs were present on the faces of overhanging cliffs. The shrubs on cliffs were favorite roosting places. Although the pigeons remained in these relatively inaccessible areas, they were not especially difficult to obtain with shotguns. I can see that it might be difficult for unarmed hunters to obtain the birds. The present writer (1946b:210) has recorded the extensive utilization of pigeons, rails and megapodes by Japanese troops and by their prisoners of war at Babelthuap and Koror during the latter part of the war.

During our stay at Peleliu we were unable to learn whether the pigeon was still present at Pulo Anna (Current Island), a coral island some 160 miles southeast of Peleliu. The U. S. Navy frequently dispatched a ship to the island, but we did not learn of it until our stay at Peleliu was nearly over. Dr. C. K. Dorsey, then of the U. S. Naval Epidemiology Unit at Peleliu, reported that various kinds of birds were numerous at Pulo Anna, but he did not recall seeing the pigeon. This pigeon may occur also at Fais, a raised coral island west of Yap and Ulithi in the Carolines. I know of no reports dealing with the avifauna of this phosphate island, but I examined several pictures, taken by Navy landing parties and the Military Government personnel, which show the island to be covered with extensive and luxuriant vegetation. I suspect that an intensive survey of the island will reveal several new records for birds.

=Ducula oceanica teraokai= (Momiyama)

Micronesian Pigeon

_Globicera oceanica teraokai_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p.
2. (Type locality, Tol, Truk Islands.)

_Columba oceanica_ Kittlitz (part), Kupfertaf. Naturgesch. Vögel,
3, 1833, p. 25, pl. 33, fig. 1 (Lugunor); _idem_ (part), Obser.
Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 299 (Lougounor);
Hartlaub (part), Archiv f. Naturgesch., 18, 1852, pp. 115, 185,
(Mordlockinseln).

_Carpophaga (Globicera) pacifica_ Gray (part), Cat. Birds Trop.
Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 41 (Mortlock's Island).

_Carpophaga pacifica_ Finsch and Hartlaub, Fauna
Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 146 (Lugunor).

_Carpophaga oceanica_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p.
576 (Ruk); Schmeltz and Krause (part), Ethnogr. Abth. Mus.
Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 330, 353 (Nukuor, Ruk); Wiglesworth (part),
Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p.
52 (Luganor, Ruk, Nukuor); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 8
(Ruk).

_Globicera oceanica_ Salvadori (part), Cat. Birds British Mus.,
21, 1893, p. 176 (Ruk); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1,
1915, p. 52 (Ruk).

_Globicera oceanica teraokai_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 55 (Ruk, ?Mortlock, ?Nukuor); Mathews, Syst.
Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 45 (Ruk); Hand-list Japanese
Birds, rev., 1932, p. 189 (Truk).

_M[uscadivora] o[ceanica] oceanica_ Neumann (part), Verhandl.
Ornith. Ges. Bayern, 25, 1922, p. 234 (Ualam = Truk).

_Ducula oceanica teraokai_ Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3, 1937,
p. 43 (Truk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 212
(Truk); Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1237, 1943, p. 11 (Truk);
Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 289 (Truk).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Truk, ?Lukunor,
?Nukuoro.

_Characters._--Adult: Resembles _D. o. monacha_, but slightly
darker on crown, nape, and mantle; back more bluish and less
greenish, underparts slightly darker chestnut. Differs from _D. o.
townsendi_ by being paler and gray on crown, nape, shoulder, side
of neck, and upper breast; abdomen and under tail-coverts slightly
deeper chestnut. Differs from _D. o. oceanica_ by larger size;
upper parts paler; abdomen and under side of tail deeper chestnut.
I agree with Amadon (1943:11) that this subspecies is only
doubtfully distinct from _D. o. monacha_ and that it might be
advisable to unite these under one subspecific name.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 27.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 14 (5 males, 9 females, 1
unsexed) from Caroline Islands, AMNH--Truk (Nov., Dec.).

_Remarks._--The Micronesian Pigeon at Truk was observed by Kittlitz (1836:299) and later by Kubary at the islands of Lukunor and Nukuoro. Momiyama (1922:4) remarks that he did not see specimens from these two islands but concludes that they probably belong to the subspecies named from Truk. It is possible that birds at these two atolls have been exterminated, although adequate field investigations have not been made.

There is little information published concerning the natural history of this subspecies. McElroy, who visited Truk in December, 1945, did not find the bird; however, he did not visit all of the islands in the group during his stay.

=Ducula oceanica townsendi= (Wetmore)

Micronesian Pigeon

_Globicera oceanica townsendi_ Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore,
Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 191. (Type locality, Ponapé).

_Carpophaga oceanica_ Finsch (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877
(1878), p. 780 (Ponapé); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, p. 407
(Ponapé); Finsch (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 292 (Ponapé);
_idem_, 1881, pp. 113, 115 (Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause (part),
Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 281 (Ponapé); Wiglesworth
(part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891
(1891), p. 52 (Ponapé); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901,
p. 113 (Guam, error = Ponapé).

_Globicera oceanica_ Salvadori (part), Cat. Birds British Mus.,
21, 1893, p. 176 (Ponapé).

_Globicera oceanica townsendi_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922,
p. 6 (Ponapé); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 55
(Ponapé); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 45
(Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 190 (Ponapé).

_Ducula oceanica townsendi_ Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3,
1937, p. 44 (Ponapé); Bequaert, Mushi, vol. 12, no. 2, 1939, pp.
81, 82 (Ponapé); _idem_, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 16,
1941, pp. 266, 290 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed.,
1942, p. 212 (Ponapé); Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1237, 1943,
p. 11 (Ponapé); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 289
(Ponapé).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé.

_Characters._--Adult: Resembles _D. o. teraokai_, but darker.
Resembles. closely _D. o. oceanica_ but larger and darker on crown
and nape; lower parts slightly paler but chin more cream-buff in
color. As Adamon (1943:11) states, there is little difference
between _D. o. townsendi_ and _D. o. oceanica_ except in size.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 27.

_Specimens examined._--Total number 21 (11 males, 9 females, 1
unsexed), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Ponapé, 2 (Feb. 11,
12); AMNH--Ponapé, 19 (Nov. 22, 29, Dec. 1, 2, 3).

_Nesting._--Coultas (field notes) writes that the pigeon at Ponapé
nests the year around, probably two or three times a year. He
describes the nest as being made of loose twigs and as placed on a
fork of a limb in a tall tree. One egg is laid. Coultas saw "two or
three" females nesting in December.

_Parasites._--Bequaert (1939:81, 82 and 1941:266, 290) found the
flies (Hippoboscidae), _Ornithoctona plicata_ and _O. pusilla_, on
pigeons from Ponapé.

_Remarks._--Coultas (field notes) writes that in 1930 several Japanese made a livelihood as professional hunters of pigeons at Ponapé. He notes, "Two or three years ago, 4 or 5 Japanese, each, averaged from 75 to 100 birds per day, which they sold to the inhabitants for 35 sen (17-1/2 cents) per bird.... Now these same hunters are fortunate if they obtain 4 or 5 Ducula each per day and are able to do so only by starting before daylight and covering great distances. Other birds are now replacing Ducula on the market." Coultas further records in his notes that the hunters used calls to attract the pigeons. In 1930, Coultas regarded the pigeon at Ponapé as a rapidly disappearing species; he found it only in small areas in remote regions of the mountains. With the shipping of supplies cut off to the Japanese garrison forces at Ponapé, as well as at Kusaie, Truk, and Yap by the effective American blockade during the latter part of the war, it is probable that the pigeons were hunted more intensively by the Japanese hunting parties than ever before. Richards obtained two specimens at Ponapé in the period from August, 1947, to January, 1948.

=Ducula oceanica oceanica= (Lesson and Garnot)

Micronesian Pigeon

_Columba oceanica_ Lesson and Garnot, Dict. Sci. Nat., éd.,
Levrault, 40, 1826, p. 316. (Type locality, Oualan = Kusaie.)

_Columba oceanica_ Lesson (part), Voy. "La Coquille," Zool.;
Atlas, 1826, pl. 41; vol. 2, 1828, pp. 432, 708 (Oualan or
Strong); _idem_, (part), Man. d'Ornith., 11, 1828, p. 166
(Oualan); Kittlitz (part), Kupfertaf. Naturgesch. Vögel, 3, 1833,
p. 25, pl. 23, fig. 1 (Ualan); _idem_ (part), Observ. Zool., in
Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 284 (Ualan); Lesson,
Compl. de Buffon, 2d ed., 2, Oiseaux, 1839, p. 292 (Oualan);
Prévost and Knip (part), Les Pigeons, 2, 1838-43, p. 47, pl. 24
(Oualan); Bonaparte, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. Paris, 39, 1854, p.
1072 (Oualan); Kittlitz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und
Kamchat., 1, 1858, pp. 39, 49, 62 (Ualan).

_Carpohaga oceanica_ Hartlaub (part), Archiv f. Naturgesch., 18,
1852, pp. 115, 185 (Ualan); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 168
(Carolinen = Kusaie); Hartlaub and Finsch (part), Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1872, p. 101 (Ualan); Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, 6, no. 35,
1873, p. 87 (Oualan); Salvadori (part). Cronaca del R.
Liceo-Ginnasio Cavour, 1878, pp. 3, 8 (Oualan); Finsch (part),
Ibis, 1880, pp. 220, 331, 332 (Taluit); _idem_ (part), Journ. f.
Ornith., 1880, pp. 292, 304 (Kuschai); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, p. 108
(Kuschai); _idem_, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 50 (Kuschai,
Jaluit); Hartert, Katalog Vogelsamml, Senckenb., 1891, p. 190
(Ualan); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden,
no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 52 (Ualan, Taluit); Matschie (part),
Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 113 (Ualan).

_Globicera oceanica_ Bonaparte (part), Consp. Avium, 2, 1855, p.
31 (Oualan); _idem_, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. Paris, 43, 1856, p.
835 (Oualan); Reichenbach (part), Tauben, 1861, p. 120 (Oualan);
Salvadori (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 21, 1893, p. 176
(Kushai).

_Carpophaga pacifica_ Finsch and Hartlaub (part), Fauna
Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 145 (Ualan).

_Carpophaga (Globicera) oceanica_ Gray (part), Cat. Birds Trop.
Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 41 (Oualan).

_Globicera oceanica oceanica_ Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore,
Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 191 (Kusaie); Momiyama
(part), Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 6 (Kusaie, Taluit); Kuroda
(part), in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 55 (Kusaie,
Taluit); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 45
(Kusaie); Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 44, 1932, p.
221 (Jaluit, Iringlob, Kusaie); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev.,
1932, p. 190 (Kusaie, Jaluit, Elmore).

_Muscadivora oceanica oceanica_ Neumann (part), Verhandl. Ornith.
Ges. Bayern, 25, 1922, p. 234 (Kushai).

_Ducula Oceanica oceanica_ Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3,
1937, p. 44 (Kusaie, Jaluit, Elmore); Bequaert, Mushi, 12, 1939,
p. 81 (Kusaie); _idem_, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 16,
1941, p. 266 (Kusaie); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p.
212 (Kusaie, Jaluit, Elmore); Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1237,
1943, p. 11 (Kusaie, Jaluit, Elmore); Mayr, Birds Southwest
Pacific, 1945, p. 289 (Kusaie, Jaluit, Elmore).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Kusaie; Marshall
Islands--Jaluit, Elmore.

_Characters._--Adult male: A large knob-billed pigeon with breast
gray, washed with buff; head and neck dark gray; feathers at base
of bill and on chin buff-white; abdomen and under tail-coverts
near "burnt sienna," sides grayer; mantle, back, rump, upper
tail-coverts, wings and tail bronze-green edged with a dark bluish
sheen; under side of wing and under side of tail brown; bill and
knob black; feet blackish-red; iris reddish-brown. Adult female
resembles adult male but smaller and possibly a little darker
bluish-green on back, wings, and tail.

_D. o. oceania_ resembles _D. o. townsendi_, but is smaller with
upper parts slightly darker and abdomen and under side of tail
lighter.

_Measurements._--Measurements are presented in table 27.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 47 (25 males, 22 females), as
follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Kusaie, 2 (Feb. 8, 9,);
AMNH--Kusaie, 45 (Jan., Feb., March).

_Parasites._--Bequaert (1939:81 and 1941:266) obtained the fly
(Hippoboscidae) _Ornithoctona plicata_ from the pigeon at Kusaie.

_Remarks._--The Micronesian Pigeon at Kusaie has been known since 1824, when from June 5 to June 15 of that year personnel from the corvette "La Coquille" visited the island and observed the bird. Kittlitz visited Kusaie and observed the pigeon in December, 1827, and January, 1828. Finsch (1880c and 1880d) found the bird in the Marshalls at Jaluit. Takatsukasa and Yamashina (1932:221) record the bird from Elmore in the Marshalls. Coultas (field notes) writes that the pigeon was numerous at Kusaie in 1931. He remarks that they appear stupid and are easily killed by the natives, who use a call to attract them. With regard to their habits he writes, "About four o'clock in the afternoon these birds begin congregating in the high trees of the lowlands close to the salt water where they roost for the night. At daybreak they begin migrating to the high mountain sides and peaks where they spend the time feeding."

=Ducula oceanica ratakensis= (Takatsukasa and Yamashina)

Micronesian Pigeon

_Globecera oceanica ratakensis_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu.
Zasshi, 44, 1932, p. 221. (Type locality, Aruno.)

_Columba australis_ Chamisso, in Kotzebue's, Voy. "Rurick," 3,
1821, p. 157 (Radak).

_Carpophaga oceanica_ Finsch, Ibis, 1880, p. 331 (Arno);
Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6,
1890-1891 (1891), p. 52 (Arno); _idem_, Ibis, 1893, p. 211
(Marshalls).

_Globicera oceanica oceanica_ Momiyama (part), Birds Micronesia,
1922, p. 5 (Arno); Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia,
1922, p. 55 (Arno).

_Globicera oceanica ratakensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev.,
1932, p. 190 (Arhno, Wotze); Mathews, Ibis, 1933, p. 87 (Aruno,
Wozzie).

_Ducala oceanica ratakensis_ Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3,
1937, p. 44 (Arno, Wotje); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942,
p. 212 (Arhno, Wotze); Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1237, 1943,
p. 12 (Arno, Wotje); Mayr. Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 289
(Arno, Wotje).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Marshall Islands (Radak
Chain)--Wotje, Arhno.

_Characters._--Takatsukasa and Yamashina (1932:221) describe this
subspecies as follows, "This form differs from all other forms of
_Globicera oceanica_ by its smaller size, more bronze-sheen on the
back, more vinaceous grey on the breast and duller brown on the
abdomen." On examining two specimens from Arno in the collection
of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, Amadon (1943:12) writes that
he finds no distinguishing color characters between _D. o.
oceanica_ and _D. o. ratakensis_. He also questions whether there
is any difference in size between the two populations.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 27.

_Remarks._--Chamisso (1821), the naturalist on board the ship "Rurick," was the first person to write of the pigeon in the Radak Chain of the Marshall Islands. The ship visited this area in 1817. Finsch (1880b) published an account of the bird when he visited the area about 1880. Takatsukasa and Yamashina (1932:221) described this bird as new on the basis of an examination of nine skins taken at Arhno and Wotje.

_Evolutionary history of Ducula oceanica in Micronesia._--The distribution and evolutionary history of _Ducula oceanica_ have been treated by Mayr (1940) and Amadon (1943). These authors place _D. oceanica_ within a superspecies containing _D. pacifica_ (Melanesia to Samoa and Cook Islands), _D. aurorea_ (Society Islands), _D. galeata_ (Marquesas Islands), and possibly other species in Papua and Malaysia. According to Mayr (1942b:fig. 7), _D. pacifica_ is the species which is ancestral to other species of pigeons in Oceania. Apparently _D. oceanica_ was derived from this ancestral stock and reached Micronesia via the Ellice and Gilbert islands. Records of _Ducula_ were obtained in the Gilbert Islands in the days of exploration; Amadon (1943:11) tentatively refers these to _D. o. oceanica_.

The irregular distribution of _D. oceanica_ in the islands of Micronesia and the fact that the bird exists on both "high" volcanic islands as well as on "low" coral atolls suggest that the present population may be a remnant of a once more widely distributed one. The fact that _D. oceanica_ may be divided into several subspecies shows that a greater amount of geographic variation has occurred as compared with its probable ancestral stock, _D. pacifica_, which is virtually undifferentiated over most of its extensive range. The pigeon of Micronesia has a more rounded wing than that of _D. pacifica_, which might, as Amadon has suggested, cause the bird to be more sedentary and lend itself more readily to differentiation through geographic isolation. _D. pacifica_ is known to fly from island to island. As shown by the measurements in table 27, the length of wing of _D. oceanica_ differs, in the various insular populations, being longer in the west and shorter in the east. This cline has been discussed by Amadon (1943:11).

It is interesting that _Ducula_ or some other large pigeon has not become established in the Mariana Islands. _Ducula_ is present at Yap and Truk, which are not very distant from Guam. Another tropical pigeon, _Columba vitiensis_, has extended its range northward and reached the Bonin Islands; probably it arrived there via the Philippines or the Riu Kiu Islands. Thus, there are representatives of large pigeons on islands to the southeast, south, west and northwest of the Marianas, but none has become established in the Marianas themselves.

=Streptopelia bitorquata dusumieri= (Temminck)

Philippine Turtle Dove

_Columba dusumieri_ Temminck, Pl. col., livr. 32, 1832, p. 188.
(Type locality, Vicinity of Manila, Luzon, Philippine Islands.)

_Colombe Dussumier_ Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. "Uranie," Zool., 1824,
pp. 35, 680 (Mariannes); _idem_, Ann. Sci. Nat. Paris, 6, 1825, p.
148 (Mariannes).

_Columba dusumieri_ Wagler, Syst. Avium Columba, 1827, p. 266, sp.
99 (Marianis).

_Columba Dussumieri_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le
Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 305 (Guahan).

_Streptopelia gaimardi_ Bonaparte, Consp. Avium, 2, 1854, p. 66
(Type locality, Mariannes); _idem_, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci.
Paris, 40, 1855, p. 18 (Mariannes); Reichenbach, Tauben, 1862, p.
76 (Mariannen).

_Turtur (Streptopelia) Giamardi_ Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is.
Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 43 (Guam).

_Turtur gaimardi_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 239 (Marian).

_Turtur dussumieri_ Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, 6, no. 35, 1873, p.
120 (Mariannes); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. Und Ber. Zool. Mus.
Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 54 (Marianne); Salvadori,
Cat. Birds British Mus., 21, 1893, p. 423 (Mariannes); Oustalet,
Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 222 (Guam);
Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 60 (Guam, Saipan); Wheeler,
Report Island of Guam, 1900, p. 13 (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers
Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 43 (Marianas); Safford,
Osprey, 1902, p. 68 (Marianas); _idem_, Amer. Anthro., 4, 1902, p.
711 (Guam); _idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 264 (Guam);
Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 760 (Marianne); Safford, Contr. U.
S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 78 (Guam); Schnee, Zeitschr. f.
Naturwisch., 82, 1912, p. 466 (Marianen); Prowazek, Die deutschen
Marianen, 1913, p. 101 (Marianen); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 1, 1913,
p. 341 (Marianen); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 20 (Guam).

_Streptopelia dussumieri_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia,
1922, p. 54 (Guam, Saipan); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum,
1, 1927, p. 62 (Marianas); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932,
p. 189 (Saipan, Tinian, Rota).

_Tuttur dessumieri_ Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24
(Guam).

_Streptopelia bitorquata dusumieri_ Peters, Check-list Birds
World, 3, 1937, p. 96 (Marianne); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d
ed., 1942, p. 211 (Saipan, Tinian, Rota); Mayr, Birds Southwest
Pacific, 1945, p. 289 (Marianas); Watson, The Raven, 17, 1946, p.
41 (Guam); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 49, 1946, p. 96
(Tinian); Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 538 (Guam); Stott, Auk, 1947,
p. 526 (Saipan); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15,
1948, p. 60 (Guam, Rota).

_Streptopelia bitorquata_ Baker, Trans. 11th N. American Wildlife
Conf., 1946, p. 208 (Guam); _idem_, Condor. 49, 1947, p. 125
(Guam).

_Geographic range._--Philippine Islands, Sula Archipelago, northern
Borneo. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands (introduced)--Guam, Rota,
Tinian, Saipan.

_Characters._--Adult: A medium-sized dove with head and nape near
"light Quaker drab" with a vinous tinge; chin and upper throat
whitish becoming near "vinaceous buff" on lower throat and to near
"vinaceous-faun" on breast and upper abdomen; lower abdomen, vent,
and under tail-coverts white; tibia grayish; neck feathers dark
with grayish centers and metallic greenish-slate edges; color near
"Japan rose"; back, rump, upper tail-coverts, scapulars, upper
wing-coverts, and inner secondaries dark "drab"; sides, upper wing
coverts, outer secondaries, and under wing-coverts lead colored;
primaries blackish edged with light gray; central tail feathers
like back but paler, outer feathers of tail darker with brownish
tinge on edges; outermost tail feathers blackish tipped with gray
and with outer webs whitish; bill dark; feet reddish; iris orange.

_Measurements._--Measurements of 15 adult males from Guam, Rota
and Tinian: wing, 154-162 (158); tail, 127-135 (130); culmen,
16.2-18.1 (17.2); tarsus, 24-27 (25.5); of 10 adult females from
Guam and Rota: wing, 150-162 (156); tail, 120-130 (127); culmen,
16.2-19.1 (17.5); tarsus, 24-26 (25). No differences in
measurements were found between populations from Guam, Rota and
Tinian.

_Weights._--The author (1948:61) reports the weights of five adult
males as 130-167 (152) and of six adult females as 135-159 (146).
These birds were taken at Guam.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 27 (16 males, 11 females), as
follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 21 (Feb. 7, May 25, 26, June
9, July 6, 7, 10, 18, 23, Aug. 2, 11, Sept. 8, Oct. 8)--Rota, 4
(Oct. 18, 22, 23, Nov. 2)--Tinian, 2 (Oct. 24, 25).

_Nesting._--The NAMRU2 party found evidences of nesting by this
dove at Guam in February, March, April, and June. Nests were
observed on May 29 and June 28. On the latter date a nest
containing one nestling and one unhatched egg was found near Mount
Santa Rosa. The nest was situated approximately five feet from the
ground in a low bush. Two eggs taken by Necker at Rota on October
31, 1945, are white and measure 29.6 by 23.0 and 30.1 by 23.0.
Strophlet (1946:538) observed a bird carrying nest materials at
Guam on November 13. Hartert (1898:60) reports on nests found at
Guam in April and May. Each nest contained one egg. It is probable
that this bird nests at all times of the year. The nuptial flight
of these birds reminds one very much of that of the mourning dove
of North America.

_Remarks._--The Philippine Turtle Dove was introduced from the Philippines to Guam and other islands of the southern Marianas by the Spanish probably in the 18th Century; it was in 1771-1774 that the Philippine deer (_Rusa_) was introduced to Guam. Perhaps these birds were initially introduced as caged birds or possibly were liberated to offer hunting for the colonial governors. They have been a very successful introduction and are well established. At Guam (see Baker 1947b:124), this species comprised 15.5 percent of all birds seen along roadways. Although open areas appear to be preferred by this dove and although it may be on the increase owing to the clearing operations of the war effort, it appears to be equally adapted to forested areas and coconut groves. It feeds on the ground to a large extent, fitting into an ecologic niche which few other species of birds of the islands occupy. It was even observed feeding on sandy beaches and tidal flats at low tide.

In 1931, Coultas found the dove to be numerous at Guam, but thought that it was in danger of extinction at Tinian and Saipan owing to extensive hunting. Downs (1946:96) reported that in 1945 the dove was abundant at Tinian. Gleise (1945:22) estimated the population of these doves at 300 on Tinian in 1945. From the remarks of Stott (1947:526), we may assume that the population at Saipan is in no immediate danger of extinction.

A comparison of specimens from the Marianas with those from the Philippines reveals no significant difference between the two. Bonaparte described the dove in the Marianas as new, naming it _Streptopelia gaimardi_. The name _Turtur prevostianus_ has been used by some authors to denote the dove in the Marianas, but this was through error as explained by Salvadori (1893:410). This name refers to a dove found on Marianne, an island of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.

=Gallicolumba canifrons= (Hartlaub and Finsch)

Palau Ground Dove

_Phlegoenas canifrons_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1872, p. 101. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.)

_Phlegoenas canifrons_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp.
5, 27, pl. 5, fig. 1 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth.
Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 407 (Palau); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und
Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 57 (Pelew);
Hartert; Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 61 (Pelew); Matschie, Journ. f.
Ornith., 1901, p. 113 (Palau); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 53 (Pelews).

_Phlogoenas canifrons_ Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877, p.
112 (Pelew); Salvadori, Ornith.] Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 169
(Pelew); _idem_, Cat. Birds British Mus., 21, 1893, p. 592
(Pelew); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7,
1895, p. 227 (Palaos); Bolau. Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg,
1898, p. 68 (Palau); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 772 (Pelew).

_Phaps canifrons_ Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, p. 89 (Pelew).

_Gallicolumba canifrons canifrons_ Mathews, Syst. Avium
Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 74 (Pelew).

_Gallicolumba canifrons_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p.
189 (Palau); Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 828, 1936, p. 4 (Palau);
Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3, 1937, p. 136 (Palau); Hand-list
Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 211 (Babelthuap); Mayr, Birds
Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 290 (Palau); Mayr, Audubon Mag., 47,
1945, p. 282 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no.
15, 1948, p. 62 (Garakayo, Peleliu).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror,
Garakayo, Peleliu, Ngabad, Angaur.

_Characters._--Adult male: A small, ground dove with forehead,
crown, sides of head, chin, throat, and breast ashy gray, lighter
on forehead, chin, and throat, and washed with "light
vinaceous-faun" on breast; occiput, nape and mantle dark
"ferruginous"; rest of upper parts glossed with bronze-olive;
lesser and middle wing-coverts tipped with metallic purple; wings
reddish-brown with dark brown tips; under side of wing
reddish-brown to brown; abdomen, vent and under tail-coverts dark
grayish-brown; tail colored like back, outer feathers have a paler
brown terminal band rather obscure; bill horn colored; feet red;
iris brown.

Female: A female molting into adult plumage is cinnamon colored,
mottled with dark brown; on the back an olive-green sheen is
beginning to appear; tail brown with some greenish sheen; tips of
tail edged with light brown; bill and feet light brown.

_Measurements._--Measurements of six adult males are: wing,
112-119 (115); tail, 65-72 (70); exposed culmen, 15.3-16.1 (15.7);
tarsus, 30.1-31.2 (30.8); of one female in postjuvenal molt: wing,
107; tail, 69; exposed culmen, 17.1; tarsus, 30.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 8 (7 males, 1 female), as
follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Koror, 1 (Nov. 18)--Garakayo, 2
(Sept. 17, 19)--Peleliu, 2 (Sept. 1, Dec. 5)--Ngabad, 1 (Sept. 11);
AMNH--exact locality not given, 1 (Dec. 1).

_Food habits._--Stomachs of specimens taken by the NAMRU2 party at
Peleliu and Garakayo contained one and one-half to two cc. of hard
seeds and seed parts.

_Remarks._--The Palau Ground Dove, according to Amadon (1943:19), is a member of a superspecies containing _G. hoedti_ (Wetar), _G. beccarii_ (New Guinea, Bismarcks, Solomons), _G. sanctaecrucis_ (Santa Cruz, New Hebrides), and _G. stairi_ (central Polynesia).

_G. canifrons_ apparently came to the Palaus from either New Guinea or the region of the Bismarck Archipelago, evolving from _G. beccarii_ or some related form. The Palau Ground Dove has a copper-colored occiput, nape, and shoulder patch, but otherwise it resembles this Melanesian species, _G. beccarii_. Amadon (1943:20) discusses two types of plumage of females in _G. stairi_; one is a male type of plumage. The lack of female specimens prevents me from determining whether this characteristic is present in _G. canifrons_.

Coultas (field notes) had difficulty in obtaining even one specimen of _G. canifrons_ in the Palaus in 1931. He concluded that either the bird was practically extinct or that he just could not find it. From the experience of the NAMRU2 party in the southern Palaus in 1945, I would think that he merely did not find the bird. Although it is probably rare in comparison with some other members of the family Columbidae of these islands, we found this bird on most of the islands visited.

The NAMRU2 party arrived at Palau expecting to find the ground dove a fairly conspicuous member of the avifauna and expecting to see it sitting in trees and flying across the roads much in the same manner as did the ground dove at Guam, _G. x. xanthonura_. At first, we did not find the bird, but in the dense jungles a low, penetrating, and intermittent, call was heard which may be described as a moan. This was the call of the ground dove. The bird was difficult to discover because its color blended so well with the shadows and dark background of the coral rocks and forest litter. The bird was very active and moved along rapidly pecking at food particles. Also it was wary. Once the distinctive call note was recognized, it was not difficult to locate the area in which the bird was living; however, finding the bird was difficult. On one occasion I stalked a dove for at least a half an hour knowing that it was always within fifty yards of me. A bird that was flushed, flew about twenty-five feet and dropped down in open forest litter and disappeared. On the basis of specimens collected and call notes heard, I estimate that the population of the Palau Ground Dove on the islands visited in 1945 was as follows: Peleliu--a minimum of 15 (found in most forested areas which were not greatly damaged by the invasion operations); Garakayo--a minimum of 10 (the doves were found to live equally well on the steep hillsides or in flat jungle on this islet); Ngabad--5 to 10 (doves were heard in several areas on this small islet); Angaur--not estimated (one call was heard in brush near the edge of a fresh water lake).

=Gallicolumba xanthonura xanthonura= (Temminck)

White-throated Ground Dove

_Columba xanthonura_ Temminck, Pl. col., livr. 32, 1823, pl. 190.
(Type locality, Mariannes.)

_Columba xanthonura_ Lesson, Compl. de Buffon, 2nd ed., 2,
Oiseaux, 1838, p. 281 (Mariannes).

_Columba Pampusan_ Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. "Uranie," Zool., 1824,
pp. 121, 681, pl. 30 (Mariannes); Dumont, Dict. Sci. Nat., ed.
Levrault, 40, 1826, p. 345 (Guam); Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 1831,
p. 471 (Mariannes); Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167
(Mariannen).

_Columba erythroptera_ Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 1831, p. 471
(Mariannes); Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le
Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 305 (Guahan); Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith.,
1854, p. 167 (Mariannen).

_Columba xanthura_ Prévost and Knip, Les Pigeons, 2, 1838-43, p.
45, pl. 23 (Guam).

_Pampusana xanthua_ Bonaparte, Consp. Avium, 2, 1854, p. 89
(Mariannis); _idem_, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. Paris, 40, 1855, p.
207 (Mariannes); Reichenbach, Tauben, 1861, p. 39 (Guam).

_Caloenas (Pampusana) xanthura_ Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific
Ocean, 1859, p. 45 (Guam).

_Phlegoenas erythroptera_ Reichenbach, Tauben, 1861, p. 41
(Mariannen).

_Caloenas xanthura_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 247
(Marian).

_Phlegoenas yapensis_ Hartlaub and Finsch, 1872, p. 102 (Type
locality, Uap); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, pp. 122,
123 (Yap); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy,
1881, p. 391 (Yap); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus.
Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 57 (Yap); Hartert, Novit.
Zool., 5, 1898, p. 61 (Yap); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p.
113 (Yap).

_Pampusana rousseaui_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1872, p. 103 (Marianne).

_Phaps erythroptera_ Giebel (part), Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, p. 89
(Marianne).

_Phaps xanthura_ Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, p. 91 (Marianne).

_Phaps yapensis_ Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, p. 91 (Uap).

_Phlegoenas virgo_ Reichenow. Journ. f. Ornith., 1885, p. 110
(Type locality, Palau-Inseln, error = Guam).

_Phlogaenas erythroptera_ Oustalet, Le Nat., 1889, p. 261
(Mariannes).

_Phlegoenas pampusan_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus.
Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 55 (Marianne); Oustalet,
Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 224 (Saypan,
Guam, Rota).

_Phlogoenas yapensis_ Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., 21,
1893, p. 593 (Uap); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris,
(3), 7, 1895, p. 227 (Mackensie); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus.
Hamburg, 1898, p. 68 (Yap); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2. 1904, p. 772
(Uap).

_Phlogoenas pampusan_ Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., 21,
1893, p. 602 (Marianne).

_Phlegoenas xanthonura_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 60
(Guam, Saipan); Wheeler, Report Island of Guam, 1900, p. 13
(Guam); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 113 (Guam, Saipan);
Safford, Amer. Anthro., 4, 1902, p. 711 (Guam); _idem_, Osprey,
1902, p. 68 (Mariannas); _idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 264
(Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 78 (Guam);
Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 20 (Guam).

_Phlogoenas xanthonura_ Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus.,
1, 1901, p. 42 (Marianas); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 1, 1913, p. 331
(Mariannen); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 (Guam).

_Phlegoenas xanthonura xanthonura_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 54 (Guam, Rota, Saipan).

_Phlegoenas xanthonura yapensis_ Kuroda, in Momoyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 54 (Yap).

_Gallicolumba xanthonura_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum,
1, 1927, p. 75 (Marianas, Mackenzie); Hand-list Japanese Birds,
rev., 1932, p. 189 (Pagan, Almagan, Saipan, Tinian, Rota,
Mackenzie); Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 828, 1936, p. 4
(Marianne); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3, 1937, p. 136
(Marianne, Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 211
(Yap, Assongsong, Pagan, Almagan, Saipan, Tinian, Rota);
Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 538 (Guam); Wharton, Ecol. Monogr., 16,
1946, p. 174 (Guam); Baker, Condor, 49, 1947, p. 125 (Guam).

_Gallicolumba canifrons yapensis_ Mathews, Syst. Avium
Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 74 (Yap).

_Terricolumba xanthonura_ Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 677
(Assongsong).

_Gallicolumba xanthonura xanthonura_ Mayr, Birds Southwest
Pacific, 1945, p. 290 (Marianas, Yap); Watson, The Raven, 17,
1946, p. 41 (Guam); Stott, Auk, 1947, p. 526 (Saipan); Baker,
Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 61 (Guam, Rota
Yap).

_Gallecolumba xanthonura xanthonura_ Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad.
Sci., 49, 1946, p. 96 (Tinian).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Asuncion, Pagan,
Almagan, Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Guam; Caroline Islands--Yap.

_Characters._--Adult male: Forehead, face, chin, throat, and upper
breast white, lightly washed with pale buff; crown, occiput, sides
of head, and nape rusty brown to dark brown; rest of upper parts
dark bronze-olive; feathers of mantle and upper wing-coverts
broadly edged with metallic purple-violet; primaries, under
wing-coverts and axillaries brown; tail, lower breast and rest of
underparts dark brown; bill and feet dark brown.

Adult female: Resembles adult male, but smaller and with
underparts colored between "ochraceous-tawny" and "cinnamon brown"
instead of dark brown and white; head and neck darker and with
more rufous than underparts; remainder of upper surface resembles
underparts but with striking olive green sheen, especially on
upper wing-coverts; primaries brown but outer webs lighter; tail
rufous-brown, with a broad, black subterminal band.

The male type of plumage in the adult female is: breast light drab
tinged with light brown and darkening anteriorly; crown resembles
that of normal female although darker and becoming lighter and
grayer on neck and nape; shoulder and wing-coverts compare
favorably with that of adult male although lighter and with
yellowish tinge; back bronzed olive-green as in normal female but
mantle with a few purplish feathers characteristic of male;
abdomen near "olive brown" with buffy-brown edges to feathers.

Immature male: Resembles adult male, but head and nape darker
brown; throat and upper breast may be more brown and less white.

Immature female: Resembles adult female, but with more rufous
coloring; olive-green sheen on feathers reduced in amount or
absent.

_Measurements._--Measurements are found in table 28.

TABLE 28. MEASUREMENTS OF _Gallicolumba xanthonura_

===================+==========+=========+========+===========+========
SUBSPECIES | Number | Wing | Tail | Culmen | Tarsus
-------------------+----------+---------+--------+-----------+--------
_G. x. xanthonura_ |43 males | 146 | 102 | 22.0 | 32
| |(139-153)|(97-111)|(21.0-23.0)| (31-33)
| | | | |
|31 females| 136 | 94 | 20.5 | 30
| |(131-141)|(90-98) |(20.0-21.5 | (28-32)
| | | | |
_G. x. kubaryi_ | 7 males | 157 | | 23.0 | 35
| |(152-160)| |(20.5-23.5)| (33-35)
| | | | |
| 7 females| 148 | | 23.0 | 33
| |(145-151)| |(22.5-23.5)| (32-34)
-------------------+----------+---------+--------+-----------+--------

There is little difference in the measurements of specimens from
Guam, Rota, Tinian, Saipan, and Asuncion. No specimens from Yap
were available for examination.

_Weights._--The NAMRU2 party obtained weights of this ground dove
from Guam as follows: seven adult males 119-154 (130); seven adult
females 96-150 (118).

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 96 (50 males, 38 females, 8
unsexed) as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 29 (Mar. 18,
April 4, 17, May 20, 28, June 2, 9, 13, 14, 15, 20, 23, 24, 27, 28,
July 2, 6, 10, 23, Aug. 11, 21)--Rota, 6 (Oct. 20, 22, 25, 26, Nov.
1, 2)--Tinian, 4 (Oct. 24, 26); AMNH--Guam, 40 (Jan. 17, 30, Feb.
12, 20, March 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 23, April 13, 19, June 13, 15, July
10, 25, Aug. 4, 10, 11, 13, 15, 18, 20, 21, 22, Sept. 4, Dec. 26,
30)--Tinian, 8 (Sept. 7, 10, 11, 12, 13)--Saipan, 6 (July 13, 15,
Aug. 24, Sept. 7, 8)--Asuncion, 3 (Jan. 18, Feb. 7, June).

_Nesting._--The NAMRU2 party found the ground dove nesting at Guam
in the winter and spring months beginning in late January. Nests
were observed in tall trees, many of which were well isolated from
other trees and vegetation. On February 10 a nest was discovered in
a breadfruit tree near one of the NAMRU2 barracks on Oca Point. It
was approximately 50 feet above the ground. On February 26 I found
pieces of egg shell beneath the tree. Occasionally during the day,
the male, but never the female, was observed sitting on this nest.
On February 10, a dove (the male) was observed building a nest in a
large banyan tree at Oca Point. Another nest was being constructed
by a female on March 7. On March 17 a young female dove, just
beginning to fly, was taken; another was found on April 3. Adult
birds with enlarged gonads were taken in April, May, June, and
July. Marche, according to Oustalet (1895:224), obtained eggs in
May, 1887.

_Food habits._--Stomachs of doves taken at Guam contained fruits
and fruit parts. On March 9, a dove was observed feeding on the
berries of the shrub known as "inkbush." This appeared to be a
favorite food. Seale (1901:42) also mentions that this berry is a
preferred food.

_Parasites._--Wharton (1946:174) lists the chigger (Acarina),
_Trombicula_ sp., from the ground dove at Guam.

_Remarks._--At Guam, the NAMRU2 party observed the ground dove to be fairly common in 1945. Along roadways, the present author (1947b:124) found that individuals of this species comprised 2.5 percent of the total population of birds observed, and the ground dove was seen on 31.2 percent of 125 road counts made. The male was much more in evidence than the female and was frequently seen flying high over the roadways and jungle areas; eighty percent of the ground doves seen while road-counts were being made were males. The female was found less frequently; it was a less conspicuous bird and was seen only occasionally in flight. Neither sex appeared to have the secretive, terrestrial habits of _G. canifrons_ of the Palau Islands. On the basis of our observations at Guam, I would say that the name "ground dove" for the bird at Guam is not descriptive. The birds were found to spend considerable time in tall trees; the closest that I saw them to the ground was when they were feeding only three to four feet from the ground in the ink berry bushes.

The call note of this dove is much like that of the Palau Ground Dove; Seale (1901:42) describes it as follows, "These pigeons seem to prefer the deep jungle, from whence their deep low moan, like the sound of a man dying in great distress, comes with a weird uncanny effect, heightened by the gloom and darkness of the unknown forest.... This sound, which always seems to come from a long distance, is very misleading, and one is considerably surprised to find he is perhaps within a few feet of the bird." Seale writes that they were very common on Guam in 1900. In 1931, Coultas found the dove "quite common at the north end of the island." The bird apparently prefers the dense forest or second growth brushy areas, but was found also in the partly cleared areas surrounding the NAMRU2 headquarters at Oca Point in 1945. At Rota, the NAMRU2 party found the birds to be numerous in 1945. Coultas observed only a few birds on Tinian in 1931; Downs (1946:96) found only a small population at this island in 1945. The extensive cultivation and clearing activities at Tinian have removed much of the habitat suitable for these, as well as other birds. At Saipan, Stott (1947:526) writes that the bird is common on "brush-covered hillsides and semi-wooded country." There is little information published regarding the status of this dove in the northern Marianas.

=Gallicolumba xanthonura kubaryi= (Finsch)

White-throated Ground Dove

_Phlegoenas Kubaryi_ Finsch, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 292. (Type
locality, Ruck and Ponapé.)

_Phlegoenas erythroptera_ Bonaparte, Consp. Avium, 2, 1854, p. 89
(Carolines); Reichenbach, Tauben, 1862, p. 41 (Carolines); Finsch,
Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 780 (Ponapé); _idem_,
Ibis, 1881, p. 115 (Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth.
Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 281, 353 (Ponapé, Ruk); Tristram, Cat.
Birds, 1889, p. 41 (Ruk).

_Phlegoenas kubaryi_ Reichenow and Schalow, Journ. f. Ornith.,
1881, p. 75 (Ruk, Ponapé); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool.
Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 55 (Ruk, Ponapé);
Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 8 (Ruk, Ponapé); Matschie,
Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 113 (Ruck, Ponapé); Kuroda, in
Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 53 (Ruk, Ponapé).

_Phlogoenas erythroptera_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880,
p. 576 (Ponapé, Ruk); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 52
(Ruk).

_Phlogoenas kubaryi_ Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., 21, 1893,
p. 599 (Ruk, Ponapé); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris,
(3), 7, 1895, p. 227 (Caroline = Truk); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist.
Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 68 (Ruck); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 1, 1913,
p. 331 (Karolinen).

_Phlegaenas kubaryi_ Christian, The Caroline Islands, 1899, p. 357
(Ponapé).

_Gallicolumba kubaryi_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1,
1927, p. 74 (Caroline Is.); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932,
p. 189 (Truk, Ponapé); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3, 1947, p.
136 (Ruk, Ponapé); Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., 4, 1941,
p. 204 (Ponapé); Bequaert, Mushi, 12, 1939, p. 81 (Ponapé);
_idem_, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 16, 1941, p. 266
(Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 211 (Truk,
Ponapé).

_Gallicolumba xanthonura kubaryi_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific,
1945, p. 290 (Truk, Ponapé); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol.
107, no. 15, 1948, p. 62 (Truk).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Truk, Ponapé.

_Characters._--Adult male: Resembles adult male of _G. x.
xanthonura_, but larger with crown, nape, and hind neck
sooty-black; upper back and lesser upper wing-coverts
purplish-violet, extending lower on back than in _G. x.
xanthonura_.

Adult female: Resembles adult male, but smaller and paler with
upper back glossy, bronze-green margined with purplish-violet;
lower back and rump glossy, olive-green; upper tail-coverts
greenish-brown; central tail feathers blackish-brown; innermost
secondaries bright, glossy green tinged with bluish.

_Measurements._--Measurements are presented in table 28.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 21 (9 males, 11 females, 1
unsexed), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Truk, 1 (July);
AMNH--Ponapé, 13 (Nov., Dec.)--Truk, 7 (Jan., Feb., May).

_Nesting._--At Ponapé in November and December, Coultas obtained
specimens which had enlarged gonads. He did not find the nest of
this bird but writes (field notes) that the natives told him that
the nest is placed in the top of the tree fern 10 or 15 feet above
the ground. In contrast, the ground dove at Guam may select a
nesting site considerably higher in the tree. Coultas reports that
one egg is laid by _C. x. kubaryi_.

_Food habits._--Coultas (field notes) writes that the bird feeds
and lives on the ground at Ponapé. He lists food as small snails,
seeds, and worms.

_Parasites._--Bequaert (1939:81 and 1941:266) records the fly
(Hippoboscidae), _Ornithoctona plicata_, from the ground dove at
Ponapé.

_Remarks._--Coultas (field notes) writes that in 1930 the ground dove at Ponapé was rare in the forested areas and generally found more along the sea coast and in the upland valleys. Coultas describes its call as an infrequent shrill, whistle-like call. He writes that hunting by the Japanese and natives was reducing the population of _G. x. kubaryi_ at Ponapé in 1930. In 1945, McElroy of the NAMRU2 party found the dove at Truk on forested slopes in tall trees, and reported that its habits at Truk were similar to those of _C. x. xanthonura_ at Guam. In 1947-1948, Richards noted (_in litt._) that the dove at Ponapé was rare (he saw only one specimen). At Truk, he found the bird to be "rather common" in thickets, dry gullies, and flying over grassy slopes. He found the bird near sea level, never in country above 300 feet in altitude and not in deep forest. I offer no explanation for the conflicting reports concerning the habits of this species, unless it be that the bird is capable of varying its habits to fit particular habitats; for example, in jungle areas it may be ground-living and in open woodlands it may be tree-living.

_Evolutionary history of Gallicolumba in Micronesia._--There have been two unrelated invasions of Micronesia by the genus _Gallicolumba_. One invasion established _G. canifrons_ at the Palau Islands. The other established the populations of _G. xanthonura_ in the Caroline and Mariana islands, Mayr (1936:4) points out that _G. xanthonura_ is related to _G. jobiensis_ (New Guinea and Northern Melanesia), _G. erythroptera_ (Society and Tuamotu islands), and _G. rubescens_ (Marquesas Islands). This group may be regarded as a superspecies. The adults of _G. jobiensis_, the male and female, resemble one another. In both, the head, neck, and auriculoloral stripes are sooty-black; the eye stripe, chin, throat, and breast are white; the abdomen is dark; and the upper parts are blackish with a coppery sheen. Immatures are rusty-brown. _G. xanthonura_ is closely related to _G. jobiensis_, and they conceivably, along with _G. erythroptera_, might be considered conspecific. The close relationship between the _G. xanthonura_ in Micronesia and _G. erythroptera_ has been noted by Oustalet (1896:71). Among named kinds, _G. x. kubaryi_ most closely resembles _G. jobiensis_ with sooty-black coloring present on the head. The male and female of _G. x. kubaryi_ closely resemble each other, although immature type of plumage may occur in adult females as indicated by the immature plumage of a bird containing well-developed eggs taken at Ponapé by Coultas.

In _G. x. xanthonura_ the male lacks the sooty-black head and has lost some of the coppery sheen from the middle of the back. The female has taken on the immature type of plumage, except for occasional near-male type plumage. In _G. erythroptera_ the male has lost some of the sooty-black coloring on the forehead, anterior crown, and loral area and some of the coppery sheen in the middle of the back. The female of _G. erythroptera_ resembles the female of _G. x. xanthonura_ except that the throat and breast are faintly outlined by the brownish color. The head and malar stripe are also outlined in this manner. Some females have some coppery gloss on the shoulder and a few white feathers on the breast; these may be considered as in the near-male type of plumage.

The tendencies in the evolution of these insular populations of _Gallicolumba_ include a reduction of sooty-black on the head and a reduction of coppery gloss on the back of the male and the reduction of malelike plumage in the female. _G. rubescens_ of the Marquesas Islands is smaller and darker. It retains the coppery gloss on the back and has, in addition, a white bar on the tail and one on the wing. On the basis of color and structural characters, it is apparent that this superspecies of _Gallicolumba_ has evolved from a center of evolution in the region of New Guinea (as shown in figure 14) with a colonization of Micronesia, from which (probably from _G. x. kubaryi_) an invasion of eastern Polynesia occurred establishing _G. erythroptera_ in the Society and Tuamotu islands, although it is also possible that _G. erythroptera_ may have reached Polynesia by way of a more direct route from Melanesia. Such a pathway of colonization as that just described is not unusual since representatives of other genera including _Acrocephalus_, _Myzomela_, and _Zosterops_ may have followed similar paths of dispersal from Micronesia into Polynesia. Apparently a population isolated in the Marquesas has evolved the distinctive _G. rubescens_.

=Caloenas nicobarica pelewensis= Finsch

Nicobar Pigeon

_Caloenas nicobarica_ var. _pelewensis_ Finsch, Journ. Mus.
Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. 159 (in reprint p. 27). (Type locality,
Palau.)

_Caloenas nicobarica pelewensis_ Mathews, Syst. Avium
Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 77 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese
Birds, rev., 1932, p. 188 (Palau); Peters, Check-list Birds World,
3, 1937, p. 139 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942,
p. 210 (Babelthuap, Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945,
p. 291 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15,
1948, p. 62 (Garakayo).