Chatham Island Pigeon/Parea

The Chatham Islands pigeon (Hemiphaga chathamensis), also known as the Chatham pigeon or parea (Moriori Kanji: 鳩, ぱれぁ), is a bird endemic to the Chatham Islands in New Zealand.

The Chatham island pigeon is introduced in Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure × Assassin's Creed sequels: Seven Code Talkers, No Way to Seaway, Weather Dragons, Project Daejeon, Two Lights, Worldcraft, Equation, and Rescris.

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.

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, pigeons 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.

Distribution and Habitat

The species is largely restricted to the southern forests of Chatham Island (particularly those around the Tuku River). A few have been seen elsewhere on Chatham Island and also further afield on Pitt and South East Islands. They were common in the 1870s but habitat destruction and predation by mammalian invasive species reduced the population to only 40 birds by 1990. Since then, predator control and stock fencing in and around the Tuku valley have resulted in improved breeding success which has led to rapid population growth.

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.

The pigeon itself is the introduced species to Wales, England, Hokkaido, Kuril , and Faroe Islands by the British government.