Mountain Imperial-pigeon

Order - Columbiformes
Family - Columbidae (Pigeons, Doves)

Mountain Imperial-pigeon

Ducula badia

山皇鸠 (shān huáng-jiū) / 灰头南鸠 (huī-tóu nán-jiū)

    Malay : Pergam Bukit Biasa

    Japanese : ヤマミカドバト (yama mikado-bato)

    Kanji 日語漢字 : 山帝鳩

Taxonomy update for 2022

The monotypic group Mountain Imperial-pigeon (cuprea) Ducula badia cuprea
is split as Malabar Imperial-pigeon Ducula cuprea, based on vocal
differences and different iris colors (Niranjana and Praveen 2021),
coupled with subtle plumage differences.

The Western Ghats gets a new endemic species in the form of
Malabar Imperial-pigeon. It can be readily distinguished from the
Mountain Imperial-pigeon of North-east India and South-east Asia
by the iris colour (dark vs pale) and the narrow tail band.
The bird also has a slower booming call compared to its north-eastern counterpart.

- Mountain Imperial-pigeon (Ducula badia)
- Malabar Imperial-pigeon (Ducula cuprea)

      Size : 43–51 cm; 316 g (badia), 580–665 g (griseicapilla)

    

      Subspecies (3) and Distribution

• Ducula badia badia (Raffles, TS 1822, Sumatra = Benkulen, western Sumatra)
  – Malay Pen. and Mergui Arch. to Sumatra, Borneo and w Java.
• Ducula badia insignis (Hodgson, BH 1836)
  – Himalayan foothills (w Nepal to Sikkim and Bhutan).
• Ducula badia griseicapilla (Walden, A 1875)
  – Myanmar to sw China, Hainan, Thailand and Indochina.

Ducula badia ssp. badia

Date : 27 February 2018
Location : Kinabalu Park, Ranau, Bahagian Pantai Barat, Sabah

Ducula badia ssp. badia
Date : 29 July 2014
Location : Fraser's Hill, Mukim Tras, Daerah Raub, Pahang

Ducula badia ssp. badia
Date : 29 July 2014
Location : Fraser's Hill, Mukim Tras, Daerah Raub, Pahang