Spinifex Pigeon vs Red-moustached Fruit-dove

Geophaps plumifera compared with Ptilinopus mercierii

Side-by-Side Comparison

Attribute Spinifex Pigeon Red-moustached Fruit-dove
Scientific Name Geophaps plumifera Ptilinopus mercierii
Order Columbiformes Columbiformes
Family Columbidae Columbidae
Conservation Status Least Concern Extinct
Length
Wingspan 21.3 cm (8.4 in)
Weight 95.75 g (3.38 oz)
Diet -- --
Clutch Size 2 --
Population Trend

Habitat Comparison

Shared Habitats

None

Spinifex Pigeon only

Red-moustached Fruit-dove only

Song & Call Comparison

Spinifex Pigeon

Song

Soft, gentle cooing; pure warm notes typical of Andean and South American terrain. Vocalization pattern typical of this species in its native habitat.

Red-moustached Fruit-dove

Conservation Status

Least Concern

Spinifex Pigeon

Extinct

Red-moustached Fruit-dove

About These Birds

Spinifex Pigeon

Small, rotund pigeon, 20–24 cm, with rufous-orange plumage, a black-and-white face pattern, and a distinctive upright hair-like crest. Inhabits rocky hillsides with spinifex grass in arid and semi-arid Australia. Granivore of spinifex and grass seeds. Often runs rather than flies when disturbed. Least Concern.

Red-moustached Fruit-dove

Red-moustached Fruit-dove (Ptilinopus mercierii), 27 cm. Green with a red moustachial streak and orange underparts; endemic to the Marquesas Islands. Last confirmed on Nuku Hiva and Hiva Oa. Possibly Extinct; last reliably recorded in the 1970s. Threatened by introduced rats and cats.

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