New Zealand Pigeon/Kereru

Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae

Wikipedia

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“ Something is wrong, the pigeon wants to live./Kei te hē, kei te pīrangi te kūkupa kia ora. ”

– Sukuna

Scientific Taxonomy & Character Information

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Reptilia

Order: Columbiformes

Family: Columbidae

Genus: Hemiphaga

Species: Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae

Descendant: Topknot pigeon (Lopholaimus antarcticus)

Named by: Johann Friedrich Gmelin

Year Published: 1789

Size: 50 cm (20 in) in length and 550–850 g (19–30 oz) in weight

Lifespan: 15 and 26 years

Activity: Diurnal 🌅, Crepuscular 🌇, Nocturnal 🌃, Cathemeral 🌅🌃

Thermoregulate: Ectotherm, Endotherm

Type(s):

Reptiles (Archosaurs)
- Birds (Pigeons)

Title:(s)

New Zealand Dove

Pantheon(s):

Terran/Gaian 🇺🇳
- New Zealander 🇳🇿

Time Period: Holocene

Alignment: Good

Threat Level: ★

Diet: Omnivorous 🥩🌿

Element(s): Air 🌬️

Inflict(s): Stench 💩

Weakness(es): Rock 🪨 (50% immune), Electric ⚡, Ice ❄️

Casualties: n/a

Based On: itself

Conservation Status: Least Concern (LC) – IUCN Red List

The Kererū (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae), also known as Kūkupa (Northern Māori dialects), New Zealand Pigeon or New Zealand Wood Pigeon is a species of pigeon native to New Zealand.

This animal was introduced or mentioned in The Last Stormtroopers, Historya Davvun, Seven Code Talkers, No Way to Seaway, Weather Dragons, Project Daejeon, Two Lights, Worldcraft, Equation, and Rescris series.

Etymology

English ornithologist John Latham wrote about the kererū in his A General Synopsis of Birds in 1783 but did not give it a scientific name. German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin gave it its first formal description in 1789, placing it in genus Columba as Columba novaeseelandiae, with Latham naming it Columba zealandica in his 1790 Index Ornithologicus.

The genus Hemiphaga was introduced by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854 with the kererū (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) as the type species for that genus. The name combines the Ancient Greek hēmi meaning "half-" or "small", with the end of the genus name Carpophaga, "fruit eating", as Bonaparte saw the genus as related to both that genus and Megaloprepia (now incorporated into Ptilinopus).

Physical Appearance

With a wingspan of approximately 75 cm (30 in) and a maximum length of 50 cm (20 in), the kererū is a huge arboreal pigeon that weighs between 550 and 850 g (19 and 30 oz). With a relatively small head, a straight, soft-based bill, and loosely attached feathers, it resembles a common pigeon. The plumage of the sexes is similar. While the nape, upper back, and secondary coverts are copper-shaded purple, the head, neck, and upper breast are dark green with gold-bronze highlights. The lower back, rump, and the remainder of the top surface of the wings lighten to a more grey-green color.

The tail has a delicate border and is dark brown with green accents. The darker portions of its plumage are clearly separated from the white breast. The coverts on the underwings and undertail are mostly light grey. The eyes have a pink orbital ring, the feet are dark red, and the bill is crimson with an orange tip. While juveniles share similar coloring, they are often paler, with duller colors for the beak, eyes, and feet, as well as a shorter tail. The extinct Norfolk Island subspecies had a dark purple tail, white underwing and undertail coverts, a chestnut mantle, and more grey outer wings and rump.

Abilities

Kereru make occasional soft coo sounds, and their wings make a characteristic "whoosh" during flight. The bird's flight is also distinctive; birds will often ascend slowly before making steep parabolic dives. Because of this behavior, the fruit in the bird's crop may ferment, especially in warm summer months, releasing alcohol that makes the bird drunk. In contrast to many birds that drink by elevating their heads and using gravity to help them do so, the kererū exhibits conventional pigeon behavior, including drinking by suction.

This happens in warm weather when ripe fruits ferment in their crop, leading to comical antics and even requiring locals to help them sober up at "kereru hospitals".

Ecology

The kererū is primarily frugivorous, preferring fruit from native trees, but also eating leaves, flowers and buds. The kererū feeds on many species with tropical affinities, including the Lauraceae and Arecaceae, which abound in the essentially subtropical forests of northern New Zealand. They also feed on podocarp species such as miro (Prumnopitys ferruginea) and kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides). Other fruit sought after by kererū include those of tawa (Beilschmiedia tawa), taraire (Beilschmiedia tarairi), pūriri (Vitex lucens), pigeonwood (Hedycarya arborea), as well as tītoki (Alectryon excelsus), nīkau (Rhopalostylis sapida), karaka (Corynocarpus laevigatus), Coprosma, and introduced species such as elder (Sambucus nigra), privet (Ligustrum species) and plums. Because of its diverse diet and widespread distribution, the kererū plays an important ecological role, and is vital to the health of podocarp-broadleaf forest.

Prior to the 1960s, Kererū were widely distributed, but they are now threatened by hunting, habitat degradation, imported mammalian species, and low reproductive success. The kererū population has been impacted by the introduction of the Australian common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) and many rat species, mostly the black rat (Rattus rattus), but also the Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans) and brown rat (Rattus norvegicus). In addition to preying on kererū eggs and nestlings, possums and rats drastically cut down on the amount of fruit available for kererū; stoats, cats, foxes, wild dogs, and tanuki kill both adults and young. Direct human hunting was likely the primary cause of the local subspecies' demise on Norfolk Island, where it was last observed in 1900.

As they digest their food, kererū frequently sun themselves after eating. Hatchlings are also fed crop milk by Kererū.

Behavior

Although their behavior toward humans varies, kereru have adapted well to living close to people and generally tolerate their presence. They may even seek out humans for food and can be quite amiable if they are used to human interaction.

Threats and Conservation

Threats

Predation on eggs and chicks by introduced mammals (rats, stoats, cats, possums).
Habitat loss and fragmentation.
Historic hunting (now illegal in NZ).

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List: Least Concern (LC)

Conservation Efforts

Conservation efforts include predator control and habitat restoration across the country.

Habitat protection.
Anti-poaching enforcement.
Rescue and rehabilitation centers.
Awareness campaigns against illegal pet trade.

Distribution and Habitat

Historically, the Kererū was widespread across the nation, typically found from Northland to Stewart Island/Rakiura and offshore islands. Its lack of genetic variety indicates that during Quaternary glacial periods, the species retreated to forest refugia, and when the climate warmed, it quickly spread throughout the nation once more. Although the species was driven locally extinct in the late 1800s due to hunting and cat predation, Kererū bones found on Raoul Island in the Kermadecs prove that the species formerly lived there. Native lowland forests, brush, the countryside, and urban gardens and parks are only a few of their diverse habitats.

The kererū inhabits environments that range in elevation from montane to coastal. However, following European and Asian colonization, their numbers drastically decreased. Hunting, the introduction of predators, and habitat loss were the main causes of this. At the moment, a number of variables, including forest cover, forest type, and predator density, determine whether kererū are found in a given area in New Zealand. Despite being sedentary, kererū can travel a significant distance within their territory; the majority of fieldwork revealed that they could travel up to 25 km (16 mi), usually in search of food. Three out of four kererū tagged around Invercargill traversed the Foveaux Strait to Stewart Island, traveling up to 100 km (62 mi), according to a 2011 Southland research.

Movement Pattern: Not a Migrant
Individual Type: Solo
Population Trend: Decreasing
Population: u
Locomotion: Airborne
Habitat: Taiga; Montane Grasslands and Shrublands; Temperate Coniferous Forests; Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests; Temperate Deciduous Forests; Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Subtropical Coniferous Forests; Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Salt Flats; Stone Forest; Tropical Coniferous Forests; Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Grasslands; Tropical Savannas and Shrublands; Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub; Mushroom Forests; Mushroom Fields; Deserts and Xeric Shrublands; Badlands; Flooded Grasslands and Savannas; Swamp; Bayous/Billabongs; Riparian; Wetland; Mangrove Forest; Cold Bamboo Forests; Tropical Bamboo Forests; Air-breathing Coral Reefs; Graveyard Vale; Mountain; Sky; Volcano; Lava Trench; Basalt Delta; Warm Ghost Town; Cold Ghost Town; Ruined Skyscraper.
Earth:
- Extant (Resident): New Zealand
Berbania: worldwide
Reinachos: worldwide
Sawintir: worldwide

Tamed

Doves and pigeons raised indoors are wonderful pets. They are easy to care for, have a good disposition, and adore both their own kind and people. They are gregarious, intelligent, and reserved. They make low maintenance pets because they don't bite, pluck, or chew; treating them with any fresh seed kind.

Lore

Ryomen Sukuna, who had been banished by the Japanese government, remained on North Island during the Kamakura period. He used his dark power to resurrect a dead pigeon that he had trodden on. Then he became a member of this life. But Sukuna was astonished to see Maoris who were mistaken for Patupaiarehe, a clan of sun-sensitive elves in this country.

Francisco Muller's buddy Rangi Kauri had adopted a kereru, which died when its owner was killed in 1997. The wrath of Abstergo Industries, which poisoned the minds of the world organizations to want Assassin Order, Templar Knights, and Monster Hunter members to be real criminals and killed for good, caused Nilan to be influenced by this, while Francisco Muller cried without his friends, wondering how Diana Spencer died. Both Rangi and his Kereru were buried in Wellington.