Mountain Imperial Pigeon (Ducula Badia)
Order: COLUMBIFORMES
Family: COLUMBIDAE Doves, Pigeons
Scientific name: Ducula Badia
English name: Mountain Imperial Pigeon
Characteristic: Size 33 cm. A relatively large dove. Its head, neck and underpart pale grey; back and wings dark reddish brown; under tail yellowish adorned with grey terminal band; base of bill reddish; legs and toes bright red.
Distribution: Himalayas, India, Southwest China, Hainan, Southeast Asia and the Greater Sundas.
Habitat: Frequenting hill forest, also in high canopies of hill evergreen forest and dry evergreen forest. In Sakaerat forest, it is confined to the latter forest type.
Habit: Usually found in small flocks; at some spots of abundant food supply, as many as 15-20 birds can congregrate. By nature, it is an arboreal bird keeping to the high canopy, descending to the ground only to drink and visit a salt lick. This bird is regaded as a frugivore, that devouring exclusively fruits, especially figs and plums; they will land on the fruiting branches and pick ripe ones with their beaks then wholly swollen. Breeding takes place from March to May, when a simple platform nest of twigs is laid against tree fork. Only one white egg is laid at a time. Both parent share in nest building, incuating and feeding a nestling. At first young will be fed with pigeon milk until it grows strong enough for normal diet. Its rapid growth lasts only 16-18 days, then it will become a fledgling and soon deserting the nest.
Status: A resident bird; scarcely seen in Sakaerat forest. It is a protected wild animal by the Wildlife law.
