Birds · Columbiformes · Columbidae

Comoro Blue-Pigeon

Alectroenas sganzini

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The Comoro blue pigeon is a fruit-eating pigeon of an intense greyish blue with a silvery-white head and neck and a bare red area around the eye. It lives in the forests of the Comoros and of Aldabra Atoll, in the Seychelles. It is an important disperser of the seeds of the trees of those island forests.

Weight

150 g – 220 g

Size

25 cm – 28 cm

Lifespan

12 years

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

RainforestIslandsHerbivore Diurnal Bird Rainforest Islands

3countries 1parks11same family

Fun facts

The blue pigeons of the Indian Ocean form a small island group with only three living species: a fourth, the Mauritius blue pigeon, became extinct in the nineteenth century and is known only from a few museum specimens.
The plumage of its neck is erectile: it can raise the silvery-white feathers into a ruff during courtship and disputes.
Aldabra, one of its refuges, is the largest raised coral atoll in the world and one of the few island ecosystems of the Indian Ocean that keeps its fauna practically intact.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Rainforest and wooded areas of the Comoros and Aldabra, in the western Indian Ocean
Sexual maturity: 12 months
Gestation / incubation: 18 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 1 egg

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alectroenas_sganzini