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The Choiseul pigeon (''Microgoura meeki'') is an extinct species of bird in the pigeon and dove family, Columbidae. It was endemic to the island of Choiseul in the Solomon Islands, although there are unsubstantiated reports that it may once have lived on several nearby islands. The last confirmed sighting was in 1904. Other common names were Solomons crested pigeon, Solomon Islands Crowned-pigeon and Kuvojo.〔 The Choiseul pigeon was monotypic within the genus ''Microgoura '' and had no known subspecies. Its closest living relative is believed to be the thick-billed ground pigeon, and some authors have suggested that the Choiseul pigeon may be a link between that species and the crowned pigeons. The adult pigeon was largely blue-grey, with a buffy orange belly and a distinctive slaty-blue crest. It is unknown how this crest was held by the bird in life. The bird's head sported a blue frontal shield surrounded by black feathers and a bicoloured beak. The wings were brown and the short tail was a blackish purple. It was described as having a beautiful rising and falling whistling call. As the bird became extinct before significant field observations could be made, not much is known about its behaviour. It is believed to have been a terrestrial species that laid a single egg in an unlined depression in the ground. It roosted in pairs or small groups of three or four in small shrubs and was reportedly very tame, allowing hunters to pick it up off its roost. The Choiseul pigeon lived in lowland forests, particularly in coastal swampy areas that lacked mangroves. It was only recorded by Albert Stewart Meek, who collected six adults and an egg from the northern part of the island in 1904. Despite many subsequent searches, the bird has not been definitively reported since. It is believed to have been rare when Meek collected his specimens. The indigenous peoples reported that the species was driven to extinction due to the introduction of feral cats, as the pigeon had never previously confronted a carnivorous mammal on Choiseul. The last unconfirmed report of a Choiseul pigeon was in the early 1940s, and the species is considered extinct. ==Taxonomy== The Choiseul pigeon was described by Walter Rothschild in 1904 on the basis of six skins—three male and three female—and an egg collected by Albert Stewart Meek earlier that year.〔 It was placed in the monotypic genus ''Microgoura'', whose name comes from the Ancient Greek word ''mikros'' "small", and ''goura'', a New Guinean aboriginal name for the similarly-crested crowned pigeons of the genus ''Goura''. Rothschild named the species after Meek, giving the bird the specific name ''meeki''.〔 Though its relationships are unclear, the Choiseul pigeon is believed to have been closest to the thick-billed ground pigeon (''Trugon terrestris'') from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, which has similar plumage. It has been suggested that the Choiseul pigeon was a link between the thick-billed ground pigeon and the crowned pigeons; however, other sources argue that it may not have been closely related to the crowned pigeons as its crest was quite different.〔 Based on behavioural and morphological evidence, Jolyon C. Parish proposed that the Choiseul pigeon should be placed in the Gourinae subfamily along with the ''Groura'' pigeons, the dodo, the Rodrigues solitaire, and others. The Choiseul pigeon has no known subspecies.〔 Today, five skins and a partial skeleton are kept in the American Museum of Natural History, while a single skin and the egg are kept at the Natural History Museum at Tring. The Choiseul pigeon is also known as the Solomon crowned pigeon, Solomon Islands pigeon, Solomons crested pigeon, Solomon Islands crested pigeon, Choiseul crested pigeon, crested Choiseul pigeon, Meek's pigeon, Meek's ground pigeon, and dwarf goura. The indigenous peoples of Choiseul called the species either "kumku-peka" or "kukuru-ni-lua," which translates literally as "pigeon-belong-ground."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Choiseul pigeon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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