Ducula is a genus of typically big, heavy-bodied pigeons within the household Columbidae.

Jointly called royal pigeons, these birds reside in the jungle canopy throughout the Indo-Pacific area, and can reach significant sizes( 35 to 45 cm, or 14 to 18 inches ).

Due to the fact that their diet plan mostly includes fruit, they likely play an essential function as seed dispersers in tropical forests.

“Modern lists acknowledge 42 types in the genus Duculaa clade of big ‘royal pigeons’ that lives in the Indo-Pacific area,” Dr. Halley composed in his paper in the Publication of the British Ornithologists’ Club

“This paper worries an inadequately understood group (putative clade) of 4 types that takes place in the Philippines and Sulawesi, Indonesia, on opposite sides of Wallace’s Line.”

The freshly explained Ducula types is endemic to Tawi-Tawi Island in the Sulu Archipelago of the Philippines.

Called Ducula tawitawior the Tawi-Tawi royal pigeon, the bird has a white throat, unlike the brown throat of the prevalent pink-bellied royal pigeon (Ducula poliocephalaan associated types discovered throughout the Philippines.

Its calls are likewise unique, offering a 2nd significant hint that the separated population represents a different types.

“Since the late 19th century, it has actually been presumed that the separated population of Ducula poliocephala on Tawi-Tawi Island, Sulu Archipelago, Philippines, is phenotypically identical from other Ducula poliocephala in the Philippines, however this hypothesis has actually obviously not been taken a look at seriously,” Dr. Halley composed.

Just 3 specimens of the brand-new types exist in clinical collections, and no pictures of a living bird are understood to exist.

2 of these specimens were gathered in 1891 throughout the Menage Expedition and are now held at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution.

A 3rd was gathered in 1971 by the Filipino ornithologist Dioscoro S. Rabor and is protected at the Delaware Museum of Nature & & Science.

According to Dr. Halley, the Ducula tawitawi population is most likely far smaller sized than that of its mainland loved ones and will most likely satisfy the requirements for Threatened status when officially evaluated.

“The comprehensive Ducula poliocephala is unusual on practically every island it lives in, and its approximated worldwide population of 5,000-10,000 people is presumed to be decreasing due to forest loss and searching pressures,” he composed in the paper.

“The size of the Ducula tawitawi population should be far smaller sized due to the fact that the types is limited to a decreasing environment (dipterocarp forest) on a single island.”

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Matthew R. Halley et al2026. A brand-new types of royal pigeon (Columbidae: Duculafrom Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. Publication of the British Ornithologists’ Club 146 (3 ): 295-310; doi: 10.25226/ bboc.v146i3.2026. a7