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Post by Melanie on May 10, 2005 8:48:50 GMT
Mauritius Blue Pigeon Alectroenas nitidissima is known only from three skins and a number of descriptions and paintings, from Mauritius. It was first described by Harmansz in 1602, and persisted for more than two centuries thereafter. Milbert, writing in 1812, noted that he ate many in 1801, and Desjardins reported in 1832 that birds were "still found towards the centre of the island in the middle of those fine forests which by their remoteness, have escaped the devastating axe". The last specimen was collected in 1826, however, and hunting and habitat loss presumably caused the species' extinction in the 1830s.
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2005 12:59:54 GMT
Hi ! Painted by using an old life-drawn picture in 'Extinct Birds' from Errol Fuller which shows that bird with an erect crest.  Bye Alex |
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Post by another specialist on May 20, 2005 5:59:12 GMT
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Post by another specialist on May 20, 2005 6:39:10 GMT
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Post by another specialist on Jun 5, 2005 15:47:44 GMT
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Post by another specialist on Jun 5, 2005 15:49:24 GMT
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Post by another specialist on Jun 8, 2005 3:40:01 GMT
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Post by Melanie on Oct 30, 2005 14:53:41 GMT
aka Pigeon Hollandaise Distribution: Endemic to Mauritius Island. Said to be a forest species, the last one being collected from the Savane Forest. Also recorded as living near the river banks. Desjardins, the only eye-witness whose accounts have come down to us, stated it ate fruits & molluscs. Description: Length 300 mm (Scopoli 1786). A large pigeon with a head & breast pearly white with many feathers being elongated with stiffened barbs; had a large fleshy red eye cere. Had a dull greyish blue belly, dark blue metallic wings & reddish tail feathers. NOTES: The Mauritius Blue Pigeon, described by Scopoli 1786, survived well into the 19th century, its extinction probably caused by a combination of hunting, habitat destruction and predation. Lived exclusively in Mauritius where it still existed in 1850. This museum, Port Louis, Mauritius Islands, is fortunate enough to possess one of the three stuffed specimens in existence, the other two being: one in Paris and one in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburg. www.internationaldovesociety.com/MiscSpecies/MauritiusBluePigeon.htm |
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Post by another specialist on Oct 31, 2005 10:26:41 GMT
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Post by another specialist on Oct 31, 2005 10:28:52 GMT
The Mauritius Blue Pigeon, A. nitidissima, ('very bright') survived well into the 19th century (1), its extinction probably caused by a combination of hunting, habitat destruction and predation. Mauritius Blue Pigeon Alectroenas nitidissima is known only from three skins and a number of descriptions and paintings, from Mauritius. It was first described by Harmansz in 1602, and persisted for more than two centuries thereafter. Milbert, writing in 1812, noted that he ate many in 1801, and Desjardins reported in 1832 that birds were “still found towards the centre of the island in the middle of those fine forests which by their remoteness, have escaped the devastating axe”. The last specimen was collected in 1826, however, and hunting and habitat loss presumably caused the species' extinction in the 1830s. Three species survive today: Seychelles Blue Pigeon, A. pulcherrima, ('very beautiful') on most of the granitic Seychelles, Comoro Blue Pigeon, A. sganzini, on the Comoros (nominate race) and Aldabra (A. s. minor), and Madagascar Blue Pigeon, A. madagascariensis, on Madagascar. At least two species are extinct. www.birds.mu/Extinct/BluePigeon.htm |
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Post by another specialist on Nov 6, 2005 17:02:49 GMT
 Gap in nature |
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Post by another specialist on Nov 8, 2005 22:02:07 GMT
The known description to be oldest of this bird is that of Sonnerat : "larger than a pigeon of Europe, the feathers of the head, neck and breast piece long, are tightened and finish at a peak. These feathers have a rather curious configuration: they have the polish, the brightness and the aspect of a sheet of cartilage. Even using a magnifying glass, I cannot distinguish if these cartilagineuses sheets result from the conglomeration of the barbules. The eye is surrounded of an eyelid of an intense red. The tail, the wings and the belly are of a major blue. The tail as well as the tail are of a carmine red very shining, the nozzle and the iris are same color and the legs are black." In 1859, little time after the foundation of the company of Natural History, Julien Desjardins presented the skin of a Dutch Pigeon, which had been killed, in 1826, by E Geffroy, in the forests of the Savanna, which skin had been just given to him by the widow of Geffroy. It had also made known the bird with Sonnerat, in 1806, at the time of its passage in the Island of France: this one the immortalisa while carrying a specimen with the Natural history museum of Paris, where he is known and described under the name of "roughcast dove" (Alectroenas nitidissima). This bird, which hardly existed that in Mauritius, exists in a third and last specimen, with the Natural history museum of Edimbourgh, where it is known under the name of "Hackled Pigeon" and comes from the collection known as of Dufresne, which had with Malmaison, its majesty the Joséphine Empress, and who arrived, one does not know how about 1816 in Scotland. A special chapter, written by MISTERS Milne-Edwards and Oustalet, is devoted to this rare bird, with a colored board, in the great work published in Paris in 1893, at the time of the centenary of the foundation of the Natural history museum of Paris. This bird, which lived exclusively in Maurice, disappeared about 1850. It was called Dutch pigeon because of its three colors characteristic, white, red and blue, which are the components of the Dutch flag. The naturalized specimen of Mauritius Institute, which belonged to the Desjardins collection, is one of three existing in the world, the two others being in Paris and Edimbourgh. This bird, killed by M.E. Geffroy in the forests of Savanna is regarded as being the last survivor of this species in nature. Some bones were also found by the Reverend H.H. Slater. This bird was present only at Maurice, but there are always very close species in Seychelles. translated from a french website www.palli.ch/~kapeskreyol/dodo/c31a.php |
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Post by RSN on Jan 28, 2006 19:26:26 GMT
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Post by another specialist on Jan 31, 2006 19:27:24 GMT
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Post by Carlos on Jun 11, 2006 17:41:46 GMT
In Fuller (2002) Extinct Birds (Foreword - HBW7) Mauritius Blue-pigeon Alectroenas nitidissimaColumba nitidissima Scopoli, 1786
Deliciae Florae Faunae Insubricae 2: 93.When the first Dutch mariners landed on Mauritius, they were hungry after weeks at sea on meager rations. Naturally, they caught Dodos and ate them. Soon, however, they tired of the rather tough meat on these easily caught creatures and turned their attentions to smaller, tastier, birds. Among those that they mentioned particularly were small pigeons and these seemed to provide a welcome alternative to the cloying flesh of the Dodos. A remakable pair of illustrations drawn in Mauritius and dating from 1601 show a dead individual of the species. It is in the journal, or log, of one of the first Dutch ships to visit Mauritius and, although anonymous, the pictures are brilliantly and expressively rendered. This journal is now kept at the Rijksarchiv in the Hague and it relates to the voyage of the ship Gelderland. [They are shown in the link of the Museé du Dodo site: www.palli.ch/~kapeskreyol/dodo/c16.php given by Frank] Despite the existence of the journal, almost two hundred years were to pass before the species was formally described and brought to zoological attention. In 1782 Pierre Sonnerat mentioned a specimen of the bird that he had collected in 1774, during his extensive travels to the East. However, as he did not adhere to the Linnaean principle of scientific naming, it was left to Giovanni Antonio Scopoli some four years later to give it its scientific name. This striking pigeon, with strange wax-like, elongated head and neck feathers, is now represented in the world's museums by just three specimens, one in Mauritius itself, one in Paris and one in Edinbourgh. The living bird, with its peculiar headdress and beautiful colouring, must have been a remarkable sight, contrasting markedly with the three dingy, antiquated stuffed examples that survive. These specimens date from the last part of the eighteenth century and the first decades of the nineteenth, the most recent having been collected in 1826. Soon after this date the species seems to have become extinct. Given the early disappearance of so many Mauritian birds it is perhaps surprising that this pigeon lasted so long. Julien Desjardins, a specimen dealer who spent many years on Mauritius and who received the 1826 specimen, provided the only information of the bird in life. He described how it lived alone near riverbanks and fed on fruit and freshwater molluscs. |
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Post by Peter on Jun 29, 2006 19:35:17 GMT
Latest press release of the Leiden Museum on the dodo expedition (translated from Dutch into English): Expedition team find the first Mauritius Blue Pigeon bones Leiden, the Netherlands, 29 June 2006. The excavations on Mauritius of an international research team have led to the discovery of the first bones ever found of the Mauritian Blue Pigeon ( Alectroenas nitidissima). Besides the bones of the Mauritian Blue Pigeon and the Dodo (see previous post), there have also been found remains of another 13 extinct animal species in the Mare aux Songes excavation site. The last Mauritian Blue Pigeon, named after its red-white-blue feathers, was presumably shot dead in 1826. Worldwide there are only three skins of this bird preserved, but never before any bones were found. Other finds are the beak and bones of one of the world largest parrots ( Lophosittacus mauritianus) and bones of the Mauritian Red Rail. Besides birds they also found two complete shells of two giant tortoises ( Cylandrispis sp.), along with bones of flying foxes and the giant skink Didosaurus. This lizard could reach a lenght of 50 cm en was probably the largest skink in the world. Besides an almost complete fossil fauna, they have also discovered seeds of several plant species in Mare aux Songes. Because of the finds of the team they can sketch a complete picture of the world of the dodo ( Raphus cucullatus), before man set foot on the island. The expedition will shed light on the cause of disappearance of the dodo and the unique ecosystem it lived in. The excavations in Mare aux Songes will continue until 3 July 2006. The total research will continue until 2009. At the end of September 2006 there will be a seminar at the Oxford University where the results will be presented. A part of the found materials will be this year on display in the Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum Naturalis (Leiden National Museum of Natural History) in Leiden, the Netherlands. www.naturalis.nl |
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Post by Melanie on Jul 7, 2006 13:15:57 GMT
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Post by sebastian on Dec 6, 2006 0:42:23 GMT
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Post by Bowhead Whale on Feb 1, 2007 20:41:25 GMT
How come the blue pigeon has not the same popularity as the dodo?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2007 21:32:57 GMT
How come the blue pigeon has not the same popularity as the dodo? Maybe because it was rather a 'normal' pigeon-like Pigeon, not as mysterious and strange as a Dodo. |
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