Measurements

Size: 32cm.

Weight: Approx 0.35kg.

Identification

These pigeons have pale pink feathers, brown wings, a chestnut tail and a pinkish-red bill, legs and feet. They are about the same size as the city variety. Approximate life span is estimated to be in the late teens.

Reproduction

During breeding season monogamous pairs defend small territories Both sexes involved with nest building, incubation and rearing of young

Clutch of 1 - 2 white eggs is incubated for 14 days

Diet

Wild: flowers fruit,leaves and some snails

In zoos:chopped oranges, apples and grapes; blueberries, corn and peas

Habitat and Distribution

Formerly in native evergreen forest and scrub; almost all native vegetation on Mauritius has been cleared, and breeding in the wild population now takes place in a small stand of non-native Cryptomeria trees, some six ha in extent.

the Black River Gorges area in the southwest region of the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean

Behavior

Feed and roost in small flocks. A mainly arboreal species, very agile when foraging in the canopy. Breeding typically starts a month after the summer rains, and the clutch comprises one or two eggs, but success is quite low.

Conservation

CITES: Appendix II

IUCN STATUS CATEGORY: Critically Endangered

CURRENT POPULATION Around 25 birds survived in the wild in the mid 1990s, with another introduced population, based on captive-bred birds, numbering around 52. Captive population over 220 in 1996

PREVIOUS GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD Formerly more widespread in Mauritius.

REASONS FOR DECLINE The species seems always to have been local, but decline is attributed to habitat loss, food shortage, nest predation and natural disasters, particularly cyclones. Now also greatly at risk because small population size itself increases the likelihood of chance factors affecting the species.

CONSERVATION PROJECTS Between 1987 and 1992, a total of 51 captive-bred birds were released into apparently suitable habitat at Brise Fer. Supplementary feeding and rat control around both the wild and introduced populations have much improved the species' status. By May 1994 the introduced population stood at 52 birds, half born in the wild, and the original wild population at around 25. The release programme is being extended. The Cryptomeria grove used by the wild population is now within the Black River National Park.