This group includes the largest species of forest pigeons.
Inner web of first primary very slightly attenuated; gape deeply cleft; tarsus stout and feathered in front for half its length. Upper parts, except head and neck, metallic blue or green; tail nearly uniform with the back and wings, without a light band; head and lower parts pearl-gray or pale vinaceous-gray.
Calayan (McGregor); Camiguin N. (McGregor); Fuga (Whitehead); Luzon (Whitehead); Mindoro (teste Hartert).
This species has been established on the character of a cupreous chestnut nape; otherwise it differs but slightly from M. chalybura with which it appears to intergrade. Its status is somewhat doubtful.
Baud, Bohol; bá-lud, Ticao, Manila, and in general use.
Bantayan (McGregor); Basilan (Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Bohol (McGregor); Catanduanes (Whitehead); Cebu (Everett, Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Dinagat (Everett); Guimaras (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Leyte (Everett); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Meyer, Steere Exp., Whitehead, McGregor); Marinduque (Steere Exp.); Masbate (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Mindanao (Everett, Koch & Schadenberg, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Goodfellow, Celestino); Mindoro (Steere Exp., Schmacker, Bourns & Worcester, McGregor, Porter); Negros (Meyer, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Keay); Panay (Bourns & Worcester); Samar (Bourns & Worcester); Semirara (Worcester); Sibuyan (McGregor); Siquijor (Bourns & Worcester, Celestino); Tablas (Bourns & Worcester); Ticao (McGregor); Verde (McGregor).
Very closely related to M. ænea but gray of hind neck and upper mantle lighter and more sharply defined from the metallic green of the back; tail with less blue tinge. Iris bright red; bill gray; legs and feet dull red.
A male from Mindoro measures: Length, 420; wing, 240; tail, 156; exposed culmen, 25; tarsus, 28.
A female from Ticao: Length, 420; wing, 232; tail, 147; exposed culmen, 24; tarsus, 25.
This is the common balud, or fruit pigeon, inhabiting the Philippines.
Balabac (Steere); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Palawan (Steere, Everett, Lempriere, Whitehead, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Celestino, White).
Very much like M. chalybura but tail darker and generally bluer on its upper surface. Male: Length, 455; wing, 250; tail, 163. Female: Length, 445; wing, 250; tail, 163.
This bird is a very slightly differentiated race of the green imperial pigeon.
Bongao (Everett); Sulu (Burbidge, Guillemard, Bourns & Worcester); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester). Indian Peninsula, Ceylon, Indo-Chinese countries, Malay Peninsula, Sunda Islands.
Adult (sexes alike).—Head, neck, and abdomen gray, tinged with vinaceous; breast gray; forehead and chin whitish; under tail-coverts dark chestnut; back, rump, upper tail-coverts, and wings metallic green, mixed with metallic copper-color; primaries and secondaries blackish with mealy edges. “Iris red; bill gray; region of nostrils dull red; edges of eyelids, legs, and feet purplish red.” (Oates.) Length, about 450; wing, 240; tail, 150; exposed culmen, 23; tarsus, 27. Female slightly smaller than male.
A-bu-un, Cagayancillo.
Cagayancillo3 (McGregor); Cagayan Sulu (Guillemard); Sibutu (Everett); Sulu (Guillemard). Mantanani Islands, Lawas River, northwest Borneo.
“Adult male.—Head and under parts grayish vinous, changing into pure gray on lower hind neck and upper mantle; frontal edge, a ring of feathers round eyes, and chin whitish; back, rump, and wings grayish green (in some specimens with a slight brown tinge), with a metallic luster in some lights; longer upper tail-coverts and tail above metallic bottle-green; primaries mealy green, especially on outer webs; under surface of wings and tail gray; under tail-coverts gray with a reddish tinge. ‘Iris crimson; bill light lead-gray; feet dull crimson.’ (Everett.) Length, about 400; wing, 240; tail, 173; bill, 20; tarsus, 28.
“Female.—Similar to the male.” (Salvadori.)
This species was very abundant on Cagayancillo where it fed entirely on young leaves of trees.
East Bolod (Mearns); West Bolod (Mearns).
“This large fruit pigeon is closely related to Muscadivora pickeringi (Cassin) from Mangsee Island north of Borneo, on the west side of the Sulu Sea, of which the type (No. 15732) is in United States National Museum. The size is practically the same; but the colors differ as follows: General coloration paler; the vinous-gray of the head and under parts is darker, the gray of lower hind neck extends farther down on the mantle, the white around the base of the bill and surrounding the eye is more extensive, the back and rump are paler and less brownish gray, the wings are paler, grayer and less greenish, and the under tail-coverts less reddish. Iris purplish red; region of the nostrils dark plumbeous; bill light plumbeous; naked eyelid deep vinaceous; bare space around eye plumbeous; feet vinaceous, flesh-color on under side of toes; claws plumbeous. Three adult males: Length, 456, 456, 460; alar expanse, 770, 760, 770; wing, 242, 242, 243; tail, 180, 180, 178; culmen, 19, 21, 19; tarsus, 30, 31, 32; middle toe with claw, 48, 49, 45.” (Mearns.)
Sexes unlike in plumage; bill and gape rather small compared with Muscadivores; nostril opening elongate; first primary attenuated and scooped on inner web; second primary slightly scooped; inner primaries obliquely cut at tip; the outline sinuous and outer web extending beyond shaft and inner web; tarsus partly feathered.
Luzon (Gevers, Heriot, Whitehead, McGregor); Mindoro (Steere Exp., Whitehead, McGregor, Porter); Mindanao (Everett, Koch & Schadenberg);4 Sibuyan (McGregor).
Adult male.—All of head, neck all around, back and interscapulars light gray; chin white; lower throat delicate light gray, bordered behind by a narrow white band and this followed by a wide, dark gray band on fore breast; lower breast, abdomen, and flanks dark chestnut, darker and slightly purplish on breast; sides gray; alula, primaries, and their coverts, dark, glossy blue-green; secondaries blue-green, mealy along outer edges; wing-coverts and inner secondaries canescent, the smaller feathers each with a dark spot at tip; rump-feathers canescent with glossy green centers and light purple edges; rectrices and upper coverts glossy blue-green, shafts black; rectrices black below, except outermost pair which are brown with white shafts. Iris white mottled with pink; bill rose-pink, the “nail” white; legs rose-pink, nails brown. Two males from Benguet, Luzon, average: Length, 356; wing, 216; tail, 131; culmen from base, 22; tarsus, 22.
Adult female.—Somewhat similar to the male but without a white band across the crop; fore breast light purple dulled by its slightly mealy look; held toward the light, it becomes green and away from the light, slightly metallic copper-red washed with vinous; rest of under parts much lighter chestnut than in male; wing-coverts glossy green, lesser and median coverts with blue spots at tips; interscapulars vinous and slightly mealy; lower back and rump green with touches of deep blue. The following notes are from an adult female taken in Benguet, Luzon: Iris with an inner white ring and outer pinkish ring; eyelids dirty white; bare skin about eyes blue-gray; bill deep rose-red, tip white; legs and feet rose-red, soles yellowish; nails brown.
Young.—Immature birds have the fore breast chestnut, uniform with the abdomen, thus not resembling the adult plumage of either sex; wings rich metallic green, or copper-red, without canescence and the primaries neither scooped nor cut as are those of the adult.
The plumage of the male and female in the gray-breasted fruit pigeon is so different that the sexes were long considered to represent distinct species. Grant, working on the material gathered by Whitehead, has shown that these differences are sexual and not specific and more recently collected material sustains his conclusions.
In habits these birds are quite similar to the slightly larger imperial pigeons or baluds. They feed on large seeds or nuts and are often found in considerable numbers in fruiting trees.
Negros (Whitehead).
Adult male.—Similar to P. carola but band on fore breast black not ash-gray. Total length, 330; wing, 211; tail, 122; tarsus, 22.5 “Base of bill coral-pink, tipped with dull white; iris pale straw-yellow; feet coral-pink.” (Whitehead.)
Adult female.—Said to be similar to the female of griseipectus.
This species is known from Whitehead’s specimens only, taken “when camped just below the bare cone of Canloon.”
Mindanao (Goodfellow, Celestino).
Adult male.—“Very similar to the male of P. nigrorum Whitehead, but with the chin, throat, and upper part of the chest nearly pure white, instead of gray, and the breast deep grayish black. ‘Iris creamy white; eyelids pale gray; bill scarlet at base, pinkish white toward the tip; feet dull purple.’ (Goodfellow.) Length, about 330; wing, 205; tail, 114.” (Grant.)
Very large; a conspicuous bare area about eye; first primary slender, scooped near middle of inner web; second primary attenuated by a double cut; tail crossed by a gray band some distance from tip.
Basilan (Steere Exp., McGregor); Cebu (Bourns & Worcester); Dinagat (Everett); Leyte (Whitehead); Luzon (Gevers, Whitehead); Masbate (Steere Exp.); Mindanao (Everett, Steere Exp., Goodfellow); Mindoro (McGregor); Negros (Steere, Keay); Panay (Bourns & Worcester); Samar (Bourns & Worcester); Sibuyan (McGregor); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester).
Adult (sexes alike).—Head and a narrow band across throat pale gray, vinous on crown and occiput; a large patch of light chestnut on chin; lower breast and abdomen pale vinous; abdomen freckled with chestnut, the color becoming rich chestnut-brown on flanks, thighs, and under tail-coverts; tail black below, crossed at about 40 mm. from tip by a pale gray band which shows both above and below; when the specimen is held toward the light, the crop, breast, sides of neck, and upper parts, except head, are rich green; held away from the light, tail and its coverts, rump, distal wing-coverts, secondaries, and breast become largely coppery or bronze-color; hind neck vinaceous gray, proximal wing-coverts, tertials, and interscapular region deep vinous-purple. Bill black; “iris indian-yellow, passing into red on outer ring;” legs, feet, and skin about eye crimson; nails gray. Length, 400 to 430; a male from Sibuyan measures: Wing, 235; tail, 156; culmen from base, 24; tarsus, 32; a female from Sibuyan, wing, 235; tail, 154; culmen from base, 24; tarsus, 27.
“Comparatively rare and usually frequents the loftiest trees. For a long time we mistook its deep booming note for the hoot of some great owl. Occasionally it comes down into low second-growth where it is easily shot, being very stupid about making its escape.
“Iris with outer red and inner yellow or brown ring; legs and feet red; nails dark brown; bill black; eyelids red. Length 400.” (Bourns and Worcester MS.)
Mindoro (Whitehead).
“Adult male.—Most nearly allied to Carpophaga radiata (Quoy and Gaimard) but much larger. Top of head, neck, breast, and rest of under parts bluish slate-gray, darkest on belly and under tail-coverts, the latter indistinctly edged with rufous; forehead, cheeks, and throat pale whitish pink; feathers surrounding eye and forming a patch above ear-coverts, blackish gray; hind neck gradually shading into sooty black on the mantle and interscapulary region; scapulars and inner wing-coverts bronze-lake, changing to bronze-green on the rest of the wings, rump, and upper tail-coverts; primary quills blackish gray, the inner ones glossed on the outer web and toward the extremity with metallic green; tail-feathers black, glossed with purple and green, and with a wide gray band across the middle; under wing-coverts and axillars slightly glossed with bronze. Length, 482; exposed culmen, 23; wing, 234; tail, 178; tarsus, 35; middle toe with claw, 51.
“Adult female.—Similar to the male but rather smaller, and the under tail-coverts distinctly margined with chestnut. Length, 445; exposed culmen, 23; wing, 223; tail, 159; tarsus, 33; middle toe with claw, 46.” (Whitehead.)
This species is much larger than Zonophaps poliocephala from which it differs also in the following points: A large black patch on ear-coverts and surrounding eye; forehead, cheeks, and chin fawn-color; occiput, neck, crop, breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts gray.
“Male.—Iris bright yellow, with an outer ring of red; orbital skin lake-red, with a grayish yellow space between the rings; bill black; feet coral-pink. Female: Iris straw-yellow, with an outer ring of golden brown; orbital skin orange-yellow, bill olive-brown, black at tip; feet salmon-red; nails black.
“This species is more often met with singly or in pairs, but sometimes as many as four birds were seen together; they were feeding on some large purple colored fruits as big as a pigeon’s egg. C. mindorensis, like the last species (Zonophaps poliocephala), has a conspicuous fleshy ring outside the eyelid. * * * During dull misty weather, especially just after daybreak, the penetrating booming note is more often heard than on clear days.” (Whitehead.)
So far as known the species is confined to the highlands of Mindoro at an elevation of between 1,200 and 1,800 meters.
Inner webs of first and second primaries very slightly attenuated; tarsus feathered in front for half its length. This genus is remarkable for its coloration; parts of the wings and tail, slate or black, the rest of the plumage pale creamy white.
Ca-má-su, bá-lud blan′-co, in general use.
Balabac (Steere, Everett); Bantayan (McGregor); Bongao (Everett); Cresta de Gallo (McGregor); Guimaras (Steere Exp.); Malanipa (Murray); Marinduque (Steere Exp.); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester); Mindanao (Everett, Koch & Schadenberg); Mindoro (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor, Porter); Negros (Meyer, Steere Exp.); Nipa (Everett); Palawan (Bourns & Worcester, White); Sakuijok (Everett); Sibay (McGregor & Worcester); Siquijor (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Celestino); Sulu (Guillemard, Bourns & Worcester); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester); Ticao (McGregor); West Bolod (Mearns). Siam, Cochin-China, Malay Peninsula, Tenimber and Indo-Malayan Islands, Andamans, Nicobars, and Moluccas.
Adult (sexes alike).—General color pale creamy white; head and sides of head more or less ochraceous-yellow; wing-coverts and edge of wing white; alula, primary-coverts, primaries, and most of the secondaries black; outer web of longer primaries mealy; basal half, or more, of rectrices and under tail-coverts light yellow, the coverts in some specimens spotted with black; end of tail marked with a wide black band which is widest on middle rectrices. Iris dark brown; bill dull blue with a black tip; eyelids, legs, and feet dark blue; nails black. Length, about 380; a male from Ticao measures: Wing, 229; tail, 127; culmen from base, 25; tarsus, 27; a female from Cresta de Gallo, wing, 229; tail, 127; culmen from base, 24; tarsus, 29.
The camaso, or balud blanco, being a very conspicuous bird, is well known to both natives and Spaniards and can not be mistaken for any other species of Philippine pigeon. The species is irregular in distribution; it is often abundant on a small island and rare, or entirely wanting, on a larger neighboring island. Worcester and Bourns found it especially abundant in Siquijor. No specimens were taken by Whitehead and it is unrecorded from Luzon, although there seems to be no reason why it should be absent from that island.