Nicobar Imperial-Pigeon Ducula nicobarica Scientific name definitions

Long treated as a subspecies of the geographically widespread Green Imperial-Pigeon (D. aenea), as its name suggests the Nicobar Imperial-Pigeon is endemic to the islands of the same name. Compared to the first-named species, this pigeon has much bluer and even darker upperparts, a darker ventral region, and reportedly very different voice, although this latter feature probably remains to be fully quantified. D. nicobarica is apparently still common throughout much of the archipelago, although numbers are perhaps much-reduced, at least locally, compared to historical accounts of its abundance. Perhaps especially due to its long being considered a race, information about this pigeon’s biology is currently very scanty. Hopefully, its recognition at species level will encourage robust studies of the life history of D. nicobarica.