Nicobar Pigeon

Fascinating facts about the Nicobar Pigeon

• At just 32-35 cm long, the Nicobar pigeon is the size of a school ruler, yet its metallic green plumage shines like a polished car hood. Females weigh 490-600 g and males 460-525 g, making them as heavy as a bag of sugar. This compact, heavyweight build lets them launch quick, regular wing beats and occasional sharp flicks.
• When the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami slammed the Nicobar Islands, the remote Batti Malv lighthouse, just a dozen metres tall, stood almost untouched, and within a month the survey ship INS Sandhayak had it back in operation. By April 2007, the lighthouse tower was "totally covered" in vines, a sign that vegetation was rapidly reclaiming the island after the disaster.
• Unlike most pigeons that drift in loose clouds, Nicobar pigeons fly in tidy columns or single file, their pure white tails flashing like a train's rear lights. When crossing the sea at dawn or dusk, this "taillight" helps keep the flock together, especially since they often soar at least 60 metres above the water. The bright tail also instantly signals a bird's age, young birds lack the white tip, so adults can spot inexperienced members at a glance.
• The Nicobar pigeon's range stretches from India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands across the Indonesian Archipelago to the Solomons and Palau, and it is linked to the extinct dodo. DNA studies of mtDNA cytochrome b, 12S rRNA, and nDNA β-fibrinogen intron 7 place it as a plausible closest living relative of the dodo, though the evidence is weak. This connection shows how a vibrant, island-hopping pigeon can carry the genetic echo of a flightless giant that vanished centuries ago, reminding us that today's common species may hold keys to lost lineages.
• Even though Nicobar pigeons are still fairly common on some islands, Palau hosts about 1,000 adult birds, their future is shaky. They are hunted for meat and prized gizzard stones, and their offshore nesting isles are being logged, built on, or polluted. Introduced predators from increased travel also threaten colonies, pushing birds to abandon breeding sites. The IUCN therefore lists the species as Near Threatened.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Nicobar Pigeon

In the lush, emerald forests of the Nicobar Islands, a vision of iridescent splendor takes to the skies, as the Nicobar Pigeon unfolds its resplendent wings, beating them in a slow, hypnotic rhythm that belies the urgency of its plight. As it glides effortlessly through the canopy, its bronze and gold plumage glimmering like the sun on rippled water, this majestic creature seems a master of its domain, untouched by the fragility that threatens its very existence. With each deliberate, almost sensual movement, the Nicobar Pigeon embodies a serene and timeless beauty, a fleeting glimpse of a world unspoiled by human presence.

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