Part 66

Globicera oceanica Bonaparte (part), Consp. Avium, 2, 1855, p. 31 (Pelew); Reichenbach (part), Tauben, 1861, p. 120 (Pelew); Salvadori (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 21, 1893, p. 176 (Pelew); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 52 (Pelew); Uchida, Annot. Zool. Japon., 9, 1918, pp. 486, 489 (Palau).

Carpophaga (Globicera) oceanica Gray (part), Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 41 (Pelew).

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 | 6 males | (211-217)| (25.0-27.0)| | 3 females| (208-213)| (25.0-26.0)| -----------------+----------+-------------+----------------+----------

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).